It All Started With a Promise
by cucumber07
Summary: Jacob and the pack leave La Push in hopes of keeping the war away from their home, leaving Leah behind to protect their families. Four years later they return to find everything has changed, and nobody to go home to. Give it a chance. : Leah/Jacob. OCs.
1. Prologue

****Okay so I really tried to stop myself from starting this!! I did I swear!!! But… writing one story gets so hard when I have so many ideas floating around and nowhere to put them. This is the prologue, the first few chapters are leading up to the main plot of the story… sort of like a long flashback, just summed up to get to the main parts. Blackwater of course, I cant seem to switch it up just yet, maybe once I get the big ideas I have out I can do something else. (: Let me know what you think! Oh! I do not own Twilight or it's characters, just a fan fic. Plot and OC's blong to me. (:****

"I'm coming with you." Her voice was defeated, knowing her statement would make no difference. He was leaving, and there was nothing she could do.

He had to go.

He let out a long sigh, running his fingers down her bare chest, wishing he could give in to her pleading demands to join him.

"You know you cant. You're my beta, second in command… and the only one I trust to keep everyone here safe while we're gone." Jacob tried to hide his emotions, to appear strong for her, for everyone else.

She closed her eyes and took in the small amount of time they had left together, both lying naked in the small clearing they had spent so many nights in. The tree's branches hovering above them, revealing the blinding moon that watched them frequently on nights similar to that one. The place they found privacy, away from everyone and all of their problems. To be together.

"I should be with you, it's my job to be with you and the pack…. To fight those stupid leeches… that's why I'm here. Not to baby sit!" They had had the same argument for the last five days in a row, neither bending.

"Leah, we have been over this a thousand times. It's already been decided. I don't **WANT **to go, but were trying to avoid the war spilling over to our home, killing innocent people. If I had any say I would stay here with you, I would never leave your side but its just not that simple…" She felt a little guilty for fighting with him during their last hours together until he returned, maybe ever. The thought only fueling her anger.

"It's all those stupid Cullen's fault. I wish they would have never come here…" She spat at him, uncaring that he was friends with them.

"Then you and I would most likely never have spoken, thus would never be where we are now. Would you rather us have never been together?" He watched her face carefully, wanting the truth, a little curious if she had ever felt that way.

They had started only as stress relievers for each other, having sex and playing little love games here and there to make themselves feel better. However, after a few months of being together constantly it was almost inevitable that something else would come of it. Leah rejected it at first, saying she wouldn't be the victim of another imprint catastrophe and that he wasn't worth it. But when he refused to continue their strange endeavors she quickly changed her mind, deciding having him briefly was better than not at all.

"Of course not! I just… I hate where we are now…. At war… having to be separated. I don't want to stay here while all of you go risk your lives and fight a bunch of undead freaks to keep us safe. I mean what's the use in me being an over grown monster if I cant do what I'm supposed to…" She sighed in frustration, turning her body to face him.

"We'll be together again, I promise. We will come home as soon as it's over and everything will go back to the way it was… better even. You have to trust me." He kissed her lips, hugging her as tightly to him as he could manage. Inhaling her scent and burying his face into her hair.

"I'll be waiting. As long as it takes, I'll be here." She followed suit and pressed her face into the crook of his neck. Their bodies completely intertwined, the soft earth almost melting under their heated frames.

"I love you."

He whispered one more time, the three words almost didn't seem like enough. He wished he could say more, give her every single word that popped in his head when he thought of her. All the things he wanted for them, everything he wanted to give her. He wanted to erase everything, completely forget their pasts and look only to their future, a clean slate. A fresh start. The two of them. But he knew that would only make it harder, if he didn't come back that's what she would remember. Empty promises and broken dreams, a planned out lifetime that she'd never have, and he'd be the one to blame for all her disappointment.

So he stuck with the three, fighting the tears that were forming behind his iron clad eyes.

"I love you too."

When she spoke the words it only fueled the realization that was dawning on him, but he stayed strong. He blinked back his tears and held her tightly, never letting her know that his heart was breaking.

That night they made love for the last time, morning coming far to quickly for the two.

She watched him as he joined their large pack, merging together with others like them, and the Cullens with their allies. His footsteps rung in her ears as she counted them, his back tearing holes throughout her as it faded.

He felt her eyes on him, probably mimicking his exact emotions. But she'd never know. As he walked away he continued to count her heart beats, letting the rhythm meld into his brain never to leave again. She was all he could hear, all he could see, she was everywhere. He knew if he survived she would be the only cause. The only cause for his strength, the only cause and reason to return home at all. He had never told her how much she meant to him, that her scent and the steady sound of her heart beating were the only things that woke him up in the morning, and the only things that allowed him to sleep. For her safety, he'd never told her, and if he didn't make it he never would. He stayed strong and moved forward, leaving her behind unaware that he was melting, a ghost of his former self without her. He would do everything within his power to return to her as soon as possible. He'd wait for her forever, spend his eternity making his way to her.

Though he was quite oblivious.

Forever is a very long time…

But eternity…

It never ends.

****Ohh snap! (: Next chapter is the first chapter but is still just going over what led them to where I'm starting the plot. Let me know!!****


	2. Downhill

_Three months after prologue…._

"Aunt Leah!!! I'm hungwy…" Clair's small voice rang in Leah's ears like bells, snapping her unwillingly back to reality.

"Where's Kim? Aren't you like her responsibility or something?" Leah turned in her chair at the kitchen table to the little girl who held a teddy bear in her arms tightly, a sad expression across her features.

"She's sweepin' … I tink she's sad again…" Clair looked to the living room where Kim was most likely on the couch with a tear stained face and blank stare.

The first month went by pretty smoothly for the group. They kept themselves busy and refused to think about their husbands, boyfriends, brothers, friends and family that were probably fighting at that very moment. But as time wore on, even only a few months, things started to go downhill. Everyone was snappy, emotional messes that blamed everyone else for their sadness. Looking for anyway to engage a fight. The lack of human contact was wearing all of them down slowly, causing frequent breakdowns and outbursts.

"Oh.. Well.. What do you want?" Leah watched as Clair's face lit up, realizing Leah wasn't going to ignore her.

"Um.. Pancakes! I wub pancakes! Can yew make Nessie some to?… maybe Danny?" Clair stared at Leah with hopeful eyes, the three children unintentionally being neglected by their guardians due to complete and udder misery.

"Sure tell them to get in here…" Leah moved around the kitchen as the three children entered, getting the pans and mix ready while they situated themselves.

"Good morning guys.." Leah turned to them and smiled, feeling guilty for letting things get that way. Though feeling completely abandoned when she realized the ones that were with her… weren't really there at all.

"Mornin Weah…" Danny said softly, the spitting image of Paul only without his very loud and very offensive mouth.

"Good morning, Leah." Renesmee responded properly, just as she had been taught. Her eyes were glazed over, old tears had obviously just evacuated, leaving her eyes shiny pools of golden brown.

Leah made them pancakes and biscuits, adding chocolate chips and whip cream to hopefully cheer them up a bit. She made smiley faces out of the pancakes with the little chips and cool whip, adding a cherry to each for the nose. When she laid them out in front of the children they smiled immediately, excitement flooding them as a result of the sudden attention they were getting. Danny and Clair dug in immediately, leaving Renesmee to look at her plate for a moment.

"What's wrong Ness?" Leah asked quietly, hoping she wouldn't say she needed blood. That was always the worst part of her day, taking the little vamp to feed in the woods.

"Um.. Thank you Leah…" She said cautiously, remembering the she wolf's temper all to well and feeling quite uneasy in her presence.

"Your welcome.." Leah smiled warmly at her, seeming to lighten the small girl's mood a bit.

* * *

"Thank you for making the kids breakfast this morning.. I'm sorry I--"

"Don't. It's okay, I understand.." Leah cut off Rachel's apology, not wanting to form a conversation.

"I need to talk to you and the others…" Leah led Rachel into the living room where she pulled Kim roughly to a sitting position. Emily sitting on the couch opposite her.

"Alright, I know you guys are upset…. We all are… its not like were not missing them too. I mean what about Danny? Clair? Renesmee? You don't think they are sad? My point is that your leaving these kids to fend for themselves while you sulk, look around!! This place is a fucking graveyard. Nobody speaks, nobody cooks, there's never any activities or people for the kids to interact with… what the hell are they supposed to do? They sit in this house and walk around like zombies waiting for one of you to wake up and just TALK to them! These are your fucking kids! Suck it up and deal with it!! At least for their sakes.."

Leah finished her statement in a fury, snatching her keys and storming to her car. The drive to work was painful, she didn't want to go, but she didn't want to be at the house either. She wished her mother had stayed, that the council hadn't been dragged along leaving her in complete control of everyone involved with the pack. Fortunately for Leah though, that included Riley. A young girl that had been accidentally exposed to their pack and therefore was bound to their secret. She was seventeen, three years younger than Leah, but they got along better than she'd gotten along with anyone for a long time. Other than a few of the pack members and Jacob. She worked at the bookstore up the street from where Leah held a job at the pharmacy and walked there everyday after her shift to ride home with Leah.

They had absolutely no contact with the pack and in Leah's case her mother, other than a single text message sometime during the second month saying that they were okay so far.

She pulled into the parking lot, sitting in her car for a moment before taking a deep breath and exiting. Walking slowly to her second version of hell, the first waiting for her when she got off.

* * *

"What do you think is wrong?" Riley asked Leah from the driver's seat, having to take over after Leah began puking her guts out.

"Well…. Since we don't get sick…. The list cant be all that long…" Leah said trying to maintain her sarcasm despite how horrible she felt.

"Meaning?…" Riley was a little worried, she was new to the alternate universe she'd been introduced to and was still pretty shaky on the subject.

"Just drive, we'll find out when we get home…" Leah leaned her head on the window, watching the trees fly by, reminding her of old times… running through the forest with her brother, with Jacob.

They reached the house and both went strait upstairs, Leah to the bathroom, Riley to the bedroom.

Leah pulled out the box she had purchased from her work, opening it quickly and pulling out the small white stick. She read the instructions carefully and did as she was told, placing it gently on the counter when she was finished. She stood and moved to the mirror, staring herself in the eye… fidgeting impatiently.

When she figured three minutes were up she picked it back up and shut her eyes.

"It's okay… it's going to be okay…. If I am… he'll be home soon… it's okay…" She said to herself before opening her eyes.

She had purchased the digital one, the one that played no games. There were no symbols to decipher, nothing to confuse you. It was either one word or two.

Pregnant or not pregnant.

She stared at it momentarily, turning on her heels for the bedroom where her friend waited patiently for her.

Riley saw the stick in her hand and immediately understood, eyeing her worriedly as she entered and took her place at the front of the room.

"Well?" Riley couldn't wait, a part of her was excited about it, the other horrified seeing as Leah was pretty much alone. The baby would have no father, no grandparents, no uncles or friends that would understand when he eventually phased, nobody to see him through but Leah.

Unable to speak, Leah handed her the stick.

Pregnant.

"Oh my god." Was all Riley could say, she turned her attention back to Leah who was staring out the window into the forest.

"I would say don't tell anyone, but who is there to tell? Besides… I know it's Jacob's…. and that makes me at least three months… it will be pretty obvious soon enough anyways…" Her voice was pained as she spoke, but she refused to cry.

She didn't cry when they left, nor when they didn't return sooner, and she wouldn't break then. She would wait and be strong, she would have the baby and they would be there waiting when he got back. Just like she said, just like she promised. And she knew he would come back, because he promised.

****I'm getting there. (: No worries. Let me know what you think!!!.****


	3. One of Each

_Five months after chapter one…._

"Well, you're doing wonderful. I'd say you should be going into labor within the next two weeks or so.." The doctor told Leah as he examined her, her head resting against the back of the chair, staring at the ceiling.

"I'm only eight months…" Leah pointed out, pretty sure the deadline was nine months for most.

"Very few women make it to their due date, and with twins it's even more rare. Do you want to know the sexes?" He asked, just like he had the last four times she'd been in.

"No, I want it to be a surprise. I have very few things to look forward to anymore… this gives me something to be excited about." She smiled at the thought, knowing she'd be content with whatever they both were.

"Alright then, you're free to go. Same time next week… if I don't get a call sooner that is…" He winked at her as she got up and dressed herself, not at all shy of her nakedness. He had seen her most private of areas several times, why would she be timid?

"Oh and Leah… don't worry yourself to much. You're going to do great…" He reassured her, knowing she had no close family around at the time.

* * *

"You are pwetty huge auntie Weah…" Danny said, smiling from his seat beside her.

"Why thank you…. That made me feel great about myself." Leah responded sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she watched the TV.

"Yew're still bewtiful… I would mawwy yew…" He climbed up to her neck and hugged it tightly, kissing her hair before returning to his seat.

Leah couldn't help but smile at him, she had grown pretty close to the three children during their stay together and rather enjoyed their company most of the time.

"Thanks Dan man, I appreciate the uplift." She ruffled his hair and leaned back, trying to take some of the pressure off of her back.

"Can you braid my hair?" Renesmee asked Leah, just like every night before their bedtime, smiling warmly.

"Of course…" Renesmee sat in between Leah's legs on the floor, waiting patiently as her ex arch enemy brushed and French braided her hair into one long beautiful braid that hung down to the middle of her back.

"I like my hair long… it reminds me of yours. My mom always made me keep it short… but I think that when she comes home I'll convince her to let me keep it. That way I'll always have something that reminds me of you with me… to keep me safe.. Just like you do…" Renesmee spoke softly, thinking of how Leah was always there, and never wanting that to change.

Leah wasn't sure how to respond so she just smiled, hugging Renesmee's head when she was finished with her hair.

At around two in the morning Leah heard her door creak open, small footsteps crossing the floor to her bed.

She looked up finding Renesmee standing over her, tears filling her eyes.

"Will they ever come back?" She tried to stay quiet, but her sobs betrayed her, making her words echo through the house.

Leah sat up and pulled Renesmee into her lap, hugging her tightly.

"I don't want to lie to you… I honestly don't know.." She didn't know what else to say, she couldn't reassure her… because she wasn't sure. She couldn't make her believe they would, because she was losing faith. She couldn't tell her everything was alright, because it wasn't. Nothing was how it was supposed to be and there was no way around it, no way to make it better. Their lives had been ripped apart, with nobody left to pick up the pieces but themselves. Renesmee curled up in the bed with Leah and cried herself to sleep, leaving her she wolf guardian to lie awake thinking of the emptiness that filled their day to day. Nothing left but the two small pups waiting to arrive.

* * *

"One more push!! Come on, one more Leah…" The lights were blinding her. Sweat covered her from head to toe, her hair a matted down mess. She had allowed Rachel and Riley into the delivery room with her, both holding her hands tightly.

"One more…. And… great job! Don't stop yet, the other is coming right behind this one.." The doctor urged her on, unaware that she was spent. She was tired, and in pain, and completely worn, but she pushed on anyway, just like she always did.

She heard the first baby cry, which allowed her enough energy to get the next out with ease and still be present enough to see them.

"Your all done, great job!! Umbilical cords anyone?" The doctor laid both babies on Leah's stomach, waiting for someone to volunteer to cut the cords, and to Leah's surprise both of her supporters did.

Riley cut one, Rachel the other. Committing the act simultaneously. They took the babies to the examining tables, weighing them, measuring them, and cleaning them off. Finally wrapping both in blankets and placing one in each of Leah's arms.

"What are they?" Leah asked the doctor who was more than ready to tell her.

"You have a baby girl, and a baby boy." He said cheerfully.

"One of each!! That's so amazing!" Riley couldn't hold her excitement, peeking at the two small bundles.

"What are you going to name them?" Rachel asked, tears lacing the brims of her eyes.

"Talon Jacob Black, and Hailey Suzanne Black." Leah's tone of voice finalized them, leaving no room for question.

"Your mom's name is Suzanne?" Riley asked quietly.

"Yeah, everyone just calls her Sue." Leah tried to block all thoughts of them from her mind, though she just named both of her children after them. One for Jacob, one for Sue. Just in case.

But no. She wouldn't think about that.

She would focus her attention solely on the two small angels she held, keeping them safe, keeping them happy. That was her goal. That was _her _mission.

Leah stared down at her children and smiled, wanting to burst into tears, resulting from a range of things. The most prominent being the birth of her children. But not yet. She'd hold her resolve. She'd stand strong. She couldn't break yet, she had to hope. She had to believe. He promised.

* * *

That sickening sweet smell invaded her nose like a disease, pulsing through her body and causing damaging reactions. She gathered her small group, including her two six month old babies, and forced them into the attic once again. Leaving only her downstairs to wait for the intruders.

They had done it several times over the past few months, vampires becoming more frequent in the area, and Leah unwilling to chance her children and friend's survival. Therefore the attic was packed with everything they would need. Phones, food, water, toys, clothes, small toilets… the ones you had to empty of course… but toilets all the same. She raced back down the stairs, using dirt scented spray to cover the other's scents. Spraying anything and everything she could get to before the sweet smell got stronger and she heard footsteps approaching outside. She seated herself on the couch facing the TV, showing no sign of emotion.

The backdoor creaked open and she could barely hear the light footsteps creeping towards her from the kitchen. After a few moments a large male, with gleaming red eyes, stepped in between her and the show she had been pretending to watch. She looked up at him, a mocking and sarcastic expression placed perfectly over her features and smiled.

"It's rude to block the television.." She said quietly, never dropping her smile.

"Uh huh. Are you alone?" He was wasting no time, looking around and sniffing frantically, obviously excited.

"Do you see anyone else?" She spat at him, watching his reaction closely. She couldn't phase, even if he did attack.

Not only would that scare everyone upstairs and possibly force them to give away their position, she had neighbors. She couldn't risk their secret, even if everyone that was at risk was gone.

"You're not very welcoming…. That's no way to speak to a guest.. Hopefully you will treat my friends a little better…" She heard more footsteps entering through the kitchen, huddling around her and smirking.

She wasn't sure if they knew they couldn't eat her, that her blood was poison to them, but she wouldn't say anything. If it came to that, which looked very likely, she'd let it be a surprise.

After that moment nothing was very clear. She remembered tearing a few limbs and severing a few heads, but in the end she lost. She could hear herself whimper, not allowing herself to scream, as they bit into her. One by one they released, falling to the floor in agony. But the damage was done. They had beaten her senseless, it was a miracle she was conscious when they began biting her, but she faded slowly. They were safe though, her children and everyone she was supposed to protect were okay. She looked around at the pictures on the walls, her mother, Seth, her father, her former self. Pictures on the tables of Jacob and the pack, of Billy and Old Quil, of Clair and Danny, of Rachel and Rebecca. Even Sam and Emily. Memories that she had fought away during their time apart flooded back to her, revealing all of them around a bon fire on the beach, playing and laughing. Memories of them in Billy's backyard playing football, of Leah and Seth making breakfast for her mother, of her and Jacob together in their clearing. The last things she saw were Talon and Hailey, their first six months of life with her, then it was black.

****Like I said, these chapters are all leading up to where I'm starting the actual story line. This fic is really spaced out time wise, of course that doesn't matter to the characters seeing as they don't age. (:****


	4. Leaving

_A month after the attack…_

Their bags were packed and the car was loaded. Talon and Hailey were placed safely in their car seats waiting patiently for Leah and Riley to join them.

Leah turned back to the house, taking another good look at it, knowing it would be the last time she would see it.

"Where are you going to go?" Kim asked Leah, standing by her own car that was packed down with luggage and of course Clair.

"I don't know yet, you?" She faced Jared's imprint, one that she'd never really got along with, and felt a sort of sadness wash over her. Realizing that it was really over. Everything they had known was gone, and they had nothing.

"My grandparents live not to far from Seattle, we'll go there until I find somewhere of my own…. Maybe I'll see you again someday?" Kim asked, looking to the ground. The same realization washing over her.

"Maybe… who knows? I guess we can never really tell." Leah's words held a strong sense of goodbye, one that neither planned to address at that moment.

Kim nodded and smiled at her one more time before waving at Leah's two little ones and driving away, Clair watched Leah as they left, tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Well… I guess this is goodbye then? Will you call? Let me know how you're all doing?" Rachel put the last of her things in her truck, Danny and Renesmee pouting in the passenger's seat.

"Of course I will, you have my cell number. And my email. Anytime you want to talk you know where to find me." Leah pulled Rachel in for a hug, her scent proving to be to much. It was to much like his.

"Are you sure you want to take Renesmee? I said I'm more than willing---." Leah was cut off, Rachel's hand held up in her face.

"No. You've done to much for us as it is…. You have two little ones of your own…. I can handle these two. They will love it in Hawaii, and you know Rebecca will enjoy them." Rachel's eyes were filled with tears, a gesture Leah couldn't handle, her resolve slowly breaking.

"Alright, well we have to go…. Long drive.. And you have a flight to catch… bye Rach.." Leah hugged her one more time and turned to leave.

"He would be so proud of you Leah…. He loved you more than anything… I hope you know that.." Rachel's words hit her like a speeding bus, knocking the wind out of her and allowing the long held tears to surface.

She turned back to her, her face slowly being stained with tears.

"No… he may have cared about me… but it wasn't like that. I always told myself that I would know he was truly in love with me if he came back… if he kept his promise… but look where I am now…"

She had stayed strong, she had done what she was supposed to do, she had kept them safe. Yet she was still alone. Alone with two children without a father, without a family. Alone with a girl she had only known for a very short time, one that was really still a child. Alone to carry on the rest of her eternity knowing that he left her, that everything she thought they had was gone. He broke his promise, so she broke hers. It was dangerous in La Push for them, they would always be a constant target, their scent giving them away. So she left. She took her kids and her adopted friend and left everything behind. As she drove away she watched their house fade into the distance, her childhood memories and everything good she once had in her life fading with it. The tears were flowing heavily as they passed the borders, the small sign to her hometown disappearing as she pressed her foot to the gas. In a sense she was moving forward, but how do you forget the entire beginning of your life? She couldn't live with it, so forgetting was her only option. She looked at Talon and Hailey in the back seat, and pushed her tears away, remembering her mission. She didn't need anyone, she could do it herself. She had done it so far…. They would be fine with her. She'd continue to be strong, she'd survive.


	5. Family

_Three years after leaving…._

Exhausted and completely beaten, Jacob pushed himself on. He could smell first beach approaching, the familiar scents that were home to him rushing to his senses forcing him to blink his eyes and be sure he wasn't dreaming. When he realized he was really there, that he had really made it back home and kept his promise, he couldn't hold his excitement. He accelerated himself further, kicking up dirt and knocking over small trees as he tore through the forest.

"_Where were they staying?_" Jared asked, Jacob's excitement flooding the rest of them.

"_I think they were at they Clearwater's, that's where Sue and my dad are going.."_ With Jacob's statement they all turned, leaping and hopping over branches and logs, the thought of seeing their families again almost proving to much for them.

They all reached the Clearwater's backyard and stopped to phase, pulling on clothes that they had just spent almost four years without. Spending the majority of their time as wolves. They ran around to the front where Sue and Billy were moving up the stairs, Jacob taking his father's chair from her and carrying him up. Sue turned the handle, it was locked. She got the spare key and flung the door open, all of them entering to find the house completely empty.

"They aren't at Billy's house, we already checked… and Old Quil said Sam's house is empty as well…" Sue stated as she looked around, finding no signs of life.

Panic started to take over all of them as they called Rachel and Leah's phones, getting no answers. Kim's was sending them strait to voicemail.

"Emily?" They all turned to Sam who was speaking into his phone, a very emotional smile plastered to his features.

"Where are you?" He asked her, almost in tears.

"Stay there, I'll be there in a little bit. DON'T go anywhere!!" She said dryly, stressing the last bit.

The wait seemed to drag on forever, none of them quite understanding what was going on, and all of them scared to death of what Emily was going to tell them. After an hour of sitting around the living room, no talking, no eating, no movement whatsoever, they heard a car pull into the driveway.

Emily opened the front door and moved briskly to the front of the room, Sam moved to her side and went to hug her. Only to be pushed away. Her face seemed broken, almost empty as she spoke, unable to make eye contact with any of them.

"They're gone… all of them.." She said quietly.

"What do you mean they're _gone??" _Seth stood, worry attacking his resolve.

"They left… after the attack the--"

"What attack!? What happened??" It was Jacob's turn to lose his cool, none of them having had to worry about controlling their temper for quite a long time.

"Let me finish please… it had been exactly a year and three months… I know seeing as we were counting the days… the hours… the minutes… the seconds…" Emily's voice was filled with spite, bitterness for their absence taking over her usual kindness.

"Vampires had started coming around here so Leah set up the attic for us to go when they would come to close. That night she said there were a lot of them… they were in the backyard and snooping around in the woods…. So as usual she made us go up there. This time though, she never came to get us. We waited till morning… after the sun was up and everything, to go downstairs… we found her on the floor…. She was bleeding and we all thought she was dead. There were like seven vampires all around her… their faces were a disgusting shade of green and their veins were all sticking out. The site was pretty nauseating so Kim took the kids upstairs, who were all hysterical because they thought Leah was dead. Riley stepped over them to Leah and said she still had a pulse so we took her to the hospital… it took almost a month for her to recover. But she did, and when she got out of the hospital they all left. Rachel took Danny and Renesmee to Hawaii to live with Rebecca, Kim lives across the street from her grandparents outside of Seattle… I don't know where Leah and Riley went… I've only spoken to her once. I have her number if you want to call…"

Emily was speaking mostly to Sue at the end of her statement who immediately began nodding her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. The thought was almost to much for the group to handle. All sick to their stomachs that they were forced to leave home, to leave them unprotected. They had Leah, and she did her job, but at what cost? Almost losing her life…. It wasn't worth it. Sue got the number and dialed instantly, getting an answer after a few rings.

"Hello?" It was Leah's voice, and Sue almost was unable to speak.

"Hel--"

"Leah! It's…. it's your mom…" She spit her words out, sobs escaping with them.

"Mom? Were are you??" Of course Leah was instantly excited, hearing her mother's voice…. The one she thought she'd never hear again.

"I'm at home.. We got here and you were all gone. Emily came over and explained… where are you?" She'd hoped that she was close, that she had stayed at least in state so that she could come right then. She wanted nothing more at that moment than to see her daughter.

"Oh.. I uh… I live in Oregon now…" She said hesitantly, their return sinking in and realizing that nobody knew she had kids…. Or that they were Jacob's. He didn't even know.

"Well when can you come home?" Sue's voice fell slightly at Leah's obvious reluctance to return.

"I'll be home this weekend mom… I just need time to take of work and stuff. I'll be there Friday night for sure though." Leah let her happiness on the subject flow through the phone, reassuring her mother. Though she was quite worried about the reaction she would get when she got there. Unsure of how to go about telling Jacob…

"Okay sweetie I'll see you then.." Sue heard the other line go dead as her daughter hung up. She had so many questions for her, so many things she had missed, so many things she wanted to know. But she refrained from asking, knowing that the phone wasn't the appropriate venue for the subjects they would be addressing. She was sure Leah had her share of questions, her share of pent up emotions due to their long drug out absence.

"She's coming this weekend…" Sue spoke to the group.

"What do we do now?" Seth asked, asking the question that was running through all their minds.

They had spent the majority of four years doing nothing but fighting, a constant, heart wrenching series of battles that had seemed to do permanent damage to some.

"I guess we just wait… get a hold of Rachel and let her know that Renesmee's family is back… find Kim… try to get everyone back together…" Sue told her son.

"We cant expect things to just return to normal instantly… I'm sure that this was very hard for all of them…. It has been four years. So be patient with them. We'll go buy stuff for this weekend… food and all that… we'll have a barbeque…" Sue smiled weakly as she spoke, thoughts of trying to reconcile all of the anger and sadness she was sure the women and children held towards them.

She knew that was how she'd feel if she hadn't heard from them, not even to check in, over a span of four years.

"Everyone go home for now.. Try to get some rest.." She left for the kitchen to see if there was anything left or if she'd have to make a quick trip to the store to make it through the evening.

Sam stayed beside Emily during her stay, but when she moved for the door he of course questioned her actions.

"Where are you going?" His voice was sad, a pleading expression present as he stood waiting for her to answer.

"I'm going home.. I'll come back for the barbeque this weekend… I'll call you Sam… I just cant do this right now. You show up without a word… it's been hard enough… I just need some time.." Her expression mimicked his, the same sadness tearing through her.

Sam only nodded, not wanting to let her go, but knowing that he'd be trying in vain to get her to stay. She more than likely thought he was dead, thought they all were. He didn't blame her for being confused, for being hesitant to just accept him back into her life. Four years was a long time.

Jacob sat on the couch, his heart pounding thinking that she had moved on. That she had let him go, forgotten about him. She had been the only thing he'd looked forward to, the only thing that kept him sane in a world of madness. The thought that she would be waiting for him when he returned was the only thing that allowed him to survive, to bring him and their brothers home safely. To make sure that he kept his promise and came home to her. She broke her promise, but he didn't blame her. He didn't blame her for losing hope, for keeping herself out of danger by leaving. So now he would wait, just like she had. But instead of years, he'd only be waiting for three days.

* * *

"Mom I thought you said we couldn't ever see grandma and grandpa?" Talon asked from his car seat, watching as the scenery changed dramatically.

"Yeah.. What about Uncle Seth? Will he be there? Do they know we're coming??" Hailey joined her brother in attacking her with questions.

They had been quiet most of the ride, she was surprised it lasted as long as it did.

"No they don't know you're coming, it's a surprise. Yes Seth with be there, and I didn't think you would be able to but… things change…" Leah spoke quietly from the driver's seat, Riley sleeping soundly beside her.

"I'm so excited, it will be such a good surprise!! Are we almost there?" Hailey asked excitedly, wiggling in her seat.

"What about our dad? Will we get to meet him?" Talon had frequently asked about his father, getting mad at her when she wouldn't answer him.

"Yes…. You're going to meet him…we'll be there in a few minutes." Leah wasn't sure how to address it when she arrived…. But looking at the two children nobody would have a problem pointing out who they belonged to.

They rode down the street she had grown up on, passing everything that had once been familiar to her. Ending as she pulled into her mother's driveway. Riley went to get out only to be stopped.

"Wait… let me go in first…" Leah left the car running as she got out, quickly moving to the front door.

She knocked twice before her mother answered the door, attacking her with a hug, tears trying their best to escape. It took a second for Leah to grasp that it was really her mom, that they were really home, that she wasn't going insane… it was all real.

"Oh my god Leah I missed you so much, I'm so sorry, we couldn't --."

"Stop mom, I don't want to do this right now… I have something.. I have someone I want you to meet.." Leah tried her best to find the words, but decided showing her was the best way.

"Stay here, don't let anyone else in…" She gave her mother the instructions and returned to the car, letting the two squirming twins out of their seats.

She led them to the door, hiding them behind her. She shut the front door after entering and pulled the two out from behind her, revealing them to Sue. Sue's eyes widened, her hands flew to her mouth.

"Hey grandma… I'm Talon…" The little boy stepped forward, extending his hand and smiling at her.

Sue pushed his hand away and knelt down, hugging him tightly.

"And who might you be?" Sue spoke to Hailey, her face soaked with tears.

"I'm Hailey, his twin… you're really my grandma?" The small girl chewed on her finger nervously as she waited for her reassurance.

"Yes sweetheart… I'm really your grandma… and I'm so glad that you are here!" That was all she needed, she ran to her arms and joined her brother in hugging her neck. Both filled with relief that they were finally meeting their family.

Sue looked up to Leah who still wore a stoned expression.

"I think you know…." Leah answered Sue's unasked question, earning only a nod from her mother.

"Well lets go meet everyone!" She picked the two children up and carried them outside where the group waited patiently for Leah.

When they walked outside everyone turned to them, Sue in the front with the children, Leah to her side.

They stared at the kids with wonder, all seeing the same thing.

"Who are these two adorable little bites?" Billy rolled himself to them, smiling widely.

Talon and Hailey looked to Leah and she nodded. They jumped down and ran to him excitedly.

"GRANDPA BILLY!!!!" They both screamed in unison, their mother having told them stories of him.

With their exclamation, realization dawned on the group, all going silent. Billy stared at Leah wide eyed, sympathy seeping from him. Leah didn't dare look to the men that she knew were staring at her, most likely waiting for her to speak.

She stepped forward to Billy, looking only to him.

"This is Talon, and Hailey. They will be four in three months… they're my kids…"

Her words pounded through the backyard.

Kim and Rachel moved to the two and reintroduced themselves, Emily doing the same.

Talon paid no mind to the women but was transfixed with the large group of men that sat waiting for their turn to be introduced. He moved closer to them, his mom tugging on his arm lightly.

"You want me to go with you?" She asked him, earning only a shake of his head.

He moved forward and stepped first to Seth. He extended his hand that Seth gladly took, shaking it and smiling.

"I'm Seth… I guess I'm your uncle…" Seth said softly, unsure of how to act around the small boy.

"I'm Talon, good to meet you Uncle Seth." His smile melted Seth into a giant puddle of mush, leaving him disappointed when he moved on to the next person.

Talon moved around the backyard introducing himself to all the large men, showing no fear, memorizing their names. He finally reached Jacob, positioning himself in front of him and gave him his hand. Jacob looked over the small boy, taking in all his features, knowing that he was meeting his son for the first time.

"I'm Jacob." He took his hand but didn't shake it.

"I'm Talon…" He looked back to his mother, who had a pained expression, giving him the answer he was seeking.

"You're my daddy…. Aren't you?" Talon's words broke barriers. Tearing down every defense Jacob had built over the past four years and going strait to his heart. He felt the tears he had wanted to cry so many times for so long surface, stinging his eyes and poking at his pride.

"Yeah, I am.." He had to force the words out, almost unable to answer without crying.

Hailey watched carefully, and when Jacob confirmed she smiled widely, running to her brother's side.

"I'm Hailey…" Jacob held out his other hand and she gave hers to him. Jacob knelt down, putting himself at eye level with them.

They stood for a moment just looking at him, his eyes overflowing with emotion, before slowly inching to him. They both wrapped their arms around his neck, putting their heads on each side of his neck. Jacob buried his head into them and hugged them tightly, their scents a mixture of his and Leah's.

He pulled back after a moment, looking at them with a large smile present.

"What all do you know about us?" He didn't want them to think he abandoned them, that he didn't want to be with them. He wanted them to understand.

"Everything. Mom told us when we phased for the first time…" Talon told Jacob who almost fell back with shock.

He looked at Leah questioningly, having never heard of anyone phasing under thirteen.

"They phased for the first time when they turned three."

She turned for the house, knowing he would follow. He had questions. She had questions.

They needed to talk.


	6. Unforgiving

"Leah…" Jacob entered the kitchen behind her, trying to decide where to begin.

"Jacob, lets just cut to it okay? Yes they are yours… apparently I got pregnant that night before you left. We waited here for you, but… it got to dangerous… I didn't think you were coming back and I--.."

"I know. I'm not upset with you… I understand why you left. It was probably the best thing. Leah… I tried… **so** hard to come home sooner.. I swear to you I did everything--" She tried to silence him by turning away but failed, he moved to her and turned her to face him.

"I did everything I could to come home to you… I tried so hard to make sure Seth came home… that everyone got back safely… I wanted to call you… I wanted to write you… to text you… to talk to you somehow… but I just had no way." He was pleading with her…. He knew she was upset. She stared at him, not knowing what to say.

"I… I know Jacob. Right now, this is about the kids. They want to spend time with you… to get to know you…. Lets just start there." She wasn't sure how she felt, she was angry and bitter, pissed that they were gone so long. That she had to do everything on her own, that her kids had no family up until then. She was pissed because she still felt like he betrayed her, that he abandoned her.

But she wouldn't address it, not yet. They would get to it eventually, but not now. The kids were more important at that point and that's where they could begin.

* * *

Leah had watched her two children spend their Saturday learning all there was to know about their father. They showed him they could phase, they all ran together, explored La Push with the one man that knew it best. He showed them the cliffs and the beach, the trails they patrolled, Cullen land, the Cullen's home, then eventually the Cullens. She had let them leave with him, not wanting to be in his head just yet, not wanting him in hers.

"Daddy, can we come stay here with you?" Talon asked hopefully as they sat perched on the edge of one of the cliffs.

"I don't know, hopefully. That will be your mom's decision… when she's ready.." Jacob's words were completely true, he knew she was angry with him. Though he wanted more than anything to make her see that it wasn't his fault, that he had tried with everything he had to get home, he knew it wouldn't help. Not yet.

"Why? I mean why… why…. Why aren't you and mommy together anymore?" Talon had struggled with his words, unsure of how his father would react to the question.

"I had to leave… a long time ago. To go to war with vampires… I didn't come back for a very long time and I left your mommy here by herself…. She was alone for a long long time…" Jacob felt himself choking on his words. Of course he would have liked a warm welcome when he returned, to pick up where they had left off. But he wasn't expecting one, he knew that things were different. That she was different. Hell, he was too. In ways he never wished to address, ever.

"Is that why she cries sometimes?" Hailey spoke from Jacob's lap, looking to him with complete and udder awe.

"I don't know baby…. But if things don't work out the way we want them to… I don't ever want the two of you to blame her. I hurt her, and I deserve whatever punishment she gives me… you understand?" He looked between the two who seemed to comprehend what he was saying, both wanting the same thing he did. To be a family. To live with their mother and father and grandparents and uncles and friends. To be with the pack and learn everything they'd need to know about their world.

When he returned to the house with the two children they attacked their mother with hugs and kisses and bombarded her with stories of their day. She was glad they were getting along, though she really had no doubt about Jacob being a good father. He was just that type. He was strong and independent, he'd gladly die for any one he cared for, and she knew that he would never let anything happen to them once he knew that he had them. She had spent the day arguing with herself. Of course she wanted to fling herself at him, to forget about their time apart and move forward as a family, but a part of her just couldn't get over those four years she spent alone. She was so mad, not necessarily at him, just about the situation and she had no idea how to address it.

She and Jacob prepared dinner for them and the kids, her mother graciously excusing herself to allow them all to have time together. As they worked around the kitchen they didn't really speak, the kids doing most of the talking. They all sat down to eat and about halfway through dinner Sam came through the back door..

"Jake… I'm so sorry… we have to go.." He spoke hurriedly, forcing Jacob to spin around.

"Where?" His tone was completely different, one Leah had never heard before. It was hoarse and demanding, no calm or kind, only force.

"Carlisle just called, seems there are a few strays running around on their land…" He sugar coated it solely for the sake of the two small children sitting at the table.

"Alright, get everyone together but don't move without me. I mean it Sam, wait for me by the ridge.." Sam exited and Jacob stood, sighing heavily before turning to them.

He knelt down and the two children ran into his arms, hugging him like they'd never hugged him before.

"I have to go for a little while, I'll be back by morning. I know that we just met, but I want you both to know that I love you. If you ever need anything, I'm always here…" He wouldn't make the same mistake he did with Leah, he wouldn't refrain from telling them exactly how he felt.

Leah watched him as he piddled with them for a moment, then rising and turning to her.

"I'll be back in the morning…" He waited for her to respond but got nothing, not even a nod.

He wanted to talk to her, to ask her what he need to do to make her see, to make her understand. But he could tell by the look on her face she wouldn't discuss it with him. Every single feeling and emotion he had for her were still there, nothing changed for him, he still loved her unconditionally. But he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to mend the wounds he'd placed, that he'd ever be able to hold her like he once did. He wasn't sure if she would ever be his again, not completely.

"I love you guys.." He said before leaving, shutting the door quietly behind him.

She watched Talon and Hailey as they returned to their seats, both still beaming about meeting him, about being with him. The longer she sat, the angrier she became. She had been there for one day and he was already gone again, it was then it occurred to her that it would always be that way. He was the alpha, he was their leader, their protector. He'd always have other responsibilities and though she shared them in a way, it didn't tear her away like it did him.

* * *

Jacob walked through the backdoor of the Clearwater home an exhausted mess, hoping to spend a lazy day with his new found children. And maybe Leah. But when he entered he knew immediately that something was off. Sue sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, a letter in her hand. He approached her slowly and she gave it to him, a sad expression present. He seated himself, and opened it up.

_Jacob,_

_I know it's pretty pathetic for me to do this, but I am anyway. _

_I'm not leaving and taking your children away from you, you will see them. You will be apart of their lives, have a say in everything they do, be involved with the things they are involved in. I'm cutting my ties with you, not theirs. I know that you had no choice but to leave, I've always understood in a way. Other parts of me argue that I should have been with you, that you shouldn't have left me behind to pick up the pieces the pack left. I carried our children alone, I gave birth to them alone, I've raised them for the first three years of their lives alone. I cant help but feel abandoned, left behind. In a way I was. So I've made my decision. _

_You will get the kids every other weekend, I'll meet you halfway on Friday afternoons and do the same on Sunday nights. Any breaks from school they get they will spend with you, holidays we will all come down. I'm not to sure on summer vacations yet, probably not until they are older. I have a job so I don't get to see them much while they are in school, summer makes it easier. We will see though. I'll call you soon and give you all the details, send you our address and home phone and which school they will be going to and all that stuff. They love you, and they want to be with you. So they will be as much as possible. I would say I'd move back, but I don't want to be there. I don't want to be anywhere near that place. I wish that I could, it would make things easier when they get older, when they want friends that will understand them. But I don't want them growing up in that, constantly waging wars with the undead. I want them to have a childhood they can look back on and appreciate like a normal kid, not a pack member. I want them to have everything the pups were denied, high school, proms, dates, sports… things that most of the pack never got. _

_I hope you understand. I'm not doing this to hurt you, you will never know how much it hurts me. How much it killed me to see you. But we'll figure it out.. This is just how it has to be. _

_I'll call you soon, take care of yourself. _

_I'll always love you. _

_Leah. _

He stared at the paper, having almost expected it, but it tore him apart all the same. He set it down on the table and sighed, knowing the only thing he could do then was wait. Wait for her phone call, wait for the weekend, wait for the breaks and the summer. Wait for her to forgive him.

****Oh dear, poor Jake. ): Next chapter jumps ahead a pretty long way and is the start of the storyline. I'm glad so many people like this, I've had so many favorites and story alerts for this its insane! Not as many reviews, but hey, its okay. (: I did put all these up pretty fast, that's what I get for being impatient. lol. Oh yea, I'm updating I Run to You tomorrow for those of you who follow. Sorry for the delay!!****


	7. Almost

_Thirteen years after reuniting, twins are sixteen years old…_

Talon ran down the sidewalk, pushing as fast as he could to get home. They were going to visit their dad for the summer, the first time their mom had agreed to it. He hated it in Bay City, there were no trees or cliffs. There were beaches but they were always packed out with obnoxious tourists or the stuck up teenage population he suffered and fought with daily. He was no outcast by any means, he and his sister were like jewels to the high school inhabitants being nothing like the locals, he just hated them. He reached the front door and ran in sweeping his mother up into a giant hug and spinning her around before placing her back in her position at the stove.

"Well hey to you too.." Leah said laughing, noticing her son's cheery mood and knowing all to well what was causing it.

"I'm so excited." He said plainly, grabbing a soda from the fridge and seating himself on the counter.

"I know, so is your sister. She's already been by to make sure her things were ready… but of course she had to go say bye to Todd." Leah peeked at him after mentioning his sister's boyfriend, knowing it bugged him to no end.

"LEAH! Bring me a beer, would ya?" Derek's raspy and horrifyingly annoying voice echoed through the house before he appeared in the doorway.

"You're already in here why don't you get it yourself??" Talon asked the brawny man, disgust prominent in his features and voice.

"Because I asked her to, mind your own business… hurry up my show is coming back on…" Derek snapped his fingers at Leah who rolled her eyes and threw him a can, turning back to the oven immediately.

"Uh.. That's my **MOM** your talking to… she is my business. Why don't you go stay at your house and quit bugging us, nobody here likes you anyway." Talon spat at him, tossing his empty can in the trashcan.

Derek moved over to where he was standing, inching to his face.

"You need to start talking to me with a little more respect, son. Once I move in here I'll throw your ass out for talking to me like that." Leah pinched her eyes shut momentarily, knowing that Derek's statement was more that enough to send her son into another rampage.

"Derek, leave him alone. This is our house, not yours. And don't call him son, he has a father, he doesn't need you trying to pretend to be." Leah had said what Talon was thinking, only in a much subtler way.

"Some dad, huh? Where's he at? Oh and by the way, your mom likes me plenty whe--" Before he could finish Talon's very large fist connected perfectly with his face, knocking him effortlessly to the ground and jumping on top of him.

Hailey entered through the back door as Talon sat on top of him and started whaling on the man's already bleeding head. Leah grabbed her son's shoulders and yanked him off, none of it being a surprise seeing as it happens at least twice a month.

"Talon go upstairs and get your things, Hailey go with him. We're leaving as soon as you get down." She ordered, trying to control the situation.

Derek stood up and wiped some of the blood from his face. He never seemed to learn that Talon wouldn't hesitate to beat his ass, given he was six foot one and complete with giant muscles. Just like his father of course.

"That boy of yours has some temper, it's going to get him in trouble one day…" Derek continued to try to clean the still flowing blood from his face.

"You provoke it, if you would just leave him alone thes--"

"You are MY girlfriend, and I'll talk to you however I want. Unless of course you want me to pull out on our deal?" He interrupted her just like he always did.

"Go ahead, in case you've forgotten, I'm the one who makes the money now so please… feel free. Oh and while were gone, don't come in my house. I'll have the alarms set and you're not one of the people I listed to take care of it. I'll be back in a few days and we can discuss us separating everything.." Leah heard her kids on the stairs and ended the conversation, forcing her nauseating "boyfriend" from the house as they exited.

She hadn't been to La Push since Christmas, and during a normal year for them she wouldn't until Thanksgiving. However recent events and complications at home pushed her to want to go back, to visit with everyone and surprise them with letting the kids stay for the entire summer.

"What's wrong with you mom? He's such a douche.." Talon said from the passenger's seat, obviously still fuming from his confrontation.

"Language! And you already know what the deal is.." Leah noticed how close they were to her mother's and was surprised he hadn't gotten over it by then.

"What because if you leave him he'll take our house and everything with him? GOOD, then we can move here and finally be happy, away from that dick head." He was only getting angrier as they talked about it so she tried to change the subject, not wanting him to be a frustrated mess when they arrived.

"Well I told him that we were going to separate everything when I got back… hopefully we'll be rid of him soon…" She patted his shoulder and smiled, receiving a half hearted grin in return.

"How could you ever have trusted him?…. And I swear if he ever says anything to me about you or my dad EVER again I'll kill him…" He warned, more so to Derek who wasn't present than to his mother.

She rolled her eyes and punched him in the shoulder playfully, earning one of his signature smiles, the one that keeps him having several girlfriends at a time.

They pulled into her mother's driveway and noticed that everyone was there, all the cars parked in the yard and down the street gave it away. She wasn't sure what the occasion was seeing as they didn't know she was coming, but knowing them, there didn't have to be an occasion to get together and eat.

The kids jumped out of the car immediately and raced to the backyard where they spotted Jacob automatically and rushed in his direction. He heard their footsteps and turned around, confused.

"DADDY!!" Hailey screeched and jumped into his arms, he twirled her around and was tackled soon after by Talon who refrained from yelling to try and get him to the ground. He failed, as usual. He may have grown a great deal and been bigger than all the boys where he lived, and most in La Push, but was still not even close to his father.

"What are you guys doing here??" He asked loudly, hoping they wouldn't say they ran away or anything like that.

"Mom brought us, she's letting us stay here with you for the WHOLE summer!!!" His daughter was oozing excitement, still hugging him tightly.

Jacob looked up and caught site of Leah who was currently hugging Seth and saying hey to her mother. She walked over to the three and smiled warmly, a smile he had almost forgotten existed.

"Hey Jacob, I see you found the two delinquents." Leah winked at Talon who was eyeballing her cautiously, unsure of what to make of her friendly attitude towards his father.

"I always do…" He released Hailey and sat on the edge of the table.

"You're really letting them stay?" Jacob asked her, still a little taken aback by her sudden change of heart.

"Yeah, I don't see why not. They're more than old enough, and… I've got things I have to take care of over the next few months so why keep them cooped up in Bay City? They love it here…." Leah continued to smile at him, his appearance the exact same as it had been almost seventeen years before.

In a sense he was still sixteen, and she was still twenty. They would never change, never age, never die. She would forever be reminded of what she let go, what had once kept her going now haunted her, leaving her more of a mess than she was when he first returned. Her phone rang loudly from her pocket, the ring tone for that specific person making Talon groan loudly and roll his eyes. Leah flicked him off and took the call, walking away from them to avoid sharing her conversation.

"Who is it?" Jacob asked curiously, noting his son's reaction and his daughter's amusement with it.

"Mom's stupid boyfriend, gah I hate him.." Talon shook his head as he watched his mother pace back and forth yelling into the phone.

"What's wrong with him? She's been with him for a while, right?" Jacob of course was nosing into it at that point, wanting to know why his children seemed so uncomfortable with Leah and Derek's relationship.

"Yeah, and him and Talon fight like every other day. They were fighting this morning before we left, I walked in and he was punching him in the face… there was blood everywhere… it was gross." Hailey babbled the story to her father, and the small crowd that had gathered around him.

Including Seth, Sue, Billy, Sam, Paul and Embry.

Jacob looked to Talon with an almost scolding expression, but that soon faded and a defensive one took over its place.

"Why were you fighting with him? Did he hit you?" Jacob hadn't meant to stand up, but did and was standing in front of the two teenagers who were more than willing to tattle on the poor excuse for a man.

"No, he just always makes comments about mom and it pisses me off. Like this morning he was yelling at her and stuff to get him a beer or whatever and he was two feet from the fridge.. I try really hard… I do… but I always end up saying something then he makes some smart ass remark about him and mom having sex or something and I get pissed …then… I don't know… it just goes from there…"

"Why is your mom with him if he's so horrible?" Sue piped in from the picnic table, Leah had never mentioned problems with her boyfriend to anyone. Though she never mentioned any problems to anyone, she always handled things herself.

"Well he…" Talon nudged Hailey when he saw Leah approaching, a hard scowl on her face.

"Are we going to eat soon?… Cause I'm going to bed early…" Leah's voice was exasperated, Sue nodding at her question.

"I'll tell you everything when she leaves to go back home.." Hailey whispered to Jacob who nodded and chuckled at his kid's sneaky behavior. He might have been angry with them had he not been so curious, they were worried about their mother and that was no reason to scold them.

After dinner Talon and Hailey went out to find something to do for the evening, find the friends they hung out with every time they were there and get into something. Leaving Leah and Jacob alone, which was initially their intention. They tried every time they visited to get them together, consistently failing miserably.

"How's work?" Jacob asked Leah who was washing the dishes, handing them off to him to be dried.

"Good, I got a promotion so my hours were cut. I only work half a day but get paid for like two…" She explained, not sure if he was really interested or just trying to break the ice.

"That's good, so what are you now? Like what is your professional title?" He kept looking at her, not wanting to tear his eyes away, hoping she would allow eye contact.

Over a span of thirteen years she had successfully managed to avoid any and all eye contact with him, leaving no windows open for him to talk to her about anything. He figured one day eventually she had to slip up, though his time was running out. Once the kids were eighteen they both knew they'd move to La Push, at least for half the year. Which meant less contact with her, which meant less chances to maybe one day address all the problems they left dangling.

"Nurse Practitioner. They paid for my last classes so it was a pretty good deal… how bout you?" She washed the last dish, frantically searching for something else to avert her attention while they talked.

"Embry and I opened that garage, we own it. It's doing really good, I bought a house and stuff. I would have had one sooner but I wanted three extra rooms, one for Talon and Hailey and a guest bedroom.." He finished drying the plate and turned to her, eager for this open opportunity.

"That's good, I'm sure they'll be exited…" She looked to the floor while she spoke, unable to find anything else to do with her attention during their "catching up".

"Leah…" His tone of voice was so familiar to her, never forgotten. It was that same tone he always used when he was going to ask her for something, or tell her something she didn't want to hear, good or bad.

"Look at me.." He put his finger under her chin, lifting her face to his.

"Please.." Jacob had decided when he initiated this conversation that he wasn't going to give up this time, that he was going to do whatever he had to, to get her to talk to him. If that meant fighting and screaming, then so be it. At least it was something.

She shut her eyes momentarily before opening them and connecting them with his. His hand was still placed gently on her chin, keeping her from pulling away. He stared into those distant pools of green, brown, and blue, completely mesmerized just like he always was when he saw them. He felt his heart speed up, hoping that this would be it. That they would finally break down those walls and talk about everything that needed to be discussed.

"What do you want Jake…." Her voice was much softer than she had intended, and the use of his nickname was just as accidental.

"I want you to talk to me… to scream at me… to hit me… to yell and punch and kick… whatever you have to do… I just want you to do **something**!! I cant stand this anymore… it's been thirteen years Leah… I've waited thirteen years for you to at least begin to forgive me… and every time I see you I stand back waiting for you to come to me… for you to show any sign of wanting to initiate the discussion you know we have to have eventually.." His voice sounded so defeated, desperation lacing his words as he leaned down to face her.

He waited patiently for her to respond, he could see that she was thinking over what she wanted to say. She took a step forward and leaned on the counter, placing herself almost beneath his gaze. Her shoulder was pressed lightly to his chest while she pondered over her words.

"Jacob… I've thought a lot about it… and I think that I--"

"MOM!! Are you kidding me? Why is he here??" Talon's voiced boomed through the house, waking Seth violently from the couch.

"Who?" She turned and faced her son, who seemed intrigued by his parent's close proximity, but was still fuming.

"Derek is outside talking to grandma.." He folded his arms and tried to calm himself, though with the one person that was able to make him lose all of his self control making his way into the house, that didn't seem likely.

Leah sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, her back unintentionally pressed against Jacob's chest, though she made no effort to move it. It took her back to when she felt his warmth frequently, never having to worry about anything because he was with her. Because he was always there for her.

"I didn't tell him to come… ugh… I don't know…" Leah got very frustrated, very quickly. Not really wanting to deal with her idiot, soon to be ex, boyfriend at that moment. And a bit angry that she hadn't got to finish her conversation with Jacob.

"Hey I know, we can all just phase and eat him.. That way there's no body…" Talon joked, earning laughs from the gathering group of men, all but Jacob.

He had really done well accepting everything, Leah, the kids, Leah's boyfriend, where they lived. Jacob had rarely complained about the arrangements because he knew that the fault was on him, though unintentional, it was still him. But he found himself in a state of complete and utter frustration, not with Leah nor their children, but with the fact that she was about to talk to him, to tell him something she had apparently thought about.. Meaning it was most likely referring to him and her… and the same asshole that picked fights with his son and seemingly caused countless problems with his family interrupted it. Jacob Black was never one to condone instigation or to antagonize fights, however, he was most defiantly not one to allow another man who _thought _he was Leah's boyfriend to speak down to, nor bully his children and, for the time being, ex girlfriend.

****Ah ha ha. Here we go, while in La Push the kids will describe a lot of what's gone on the last few years and there will be a lot of Leah and Jacob so no worries. Plus! Somewhere in the next few chapters I'll introduce new, and old characters and throw in the issue in the story other than obvious family drama. Oh yeah and Derek really isn't a large part in the story, he isn't abusive or anything like that, Hailey and Talon will explain to Jacob in the next one or two chapters why Leah is with him. Thanks for the reviews and favorites/story alerts. Keep it coming and so will I. (:****


	8. Breathless

Sue ushered Derek into the house, meeting Leah's annoyed gaze as they entered the kitchen.

"What are you doing here?" Talon spat at the man, still standing with his arms folded, face red.

"I came to speak to your mother, she wasn't answering her phone. It's pretty important.." Derek of course spoke cautiously having a group of very large men who he assumed were Talon's family members around him. All staring.

"I bet it is…" Talon retaliated sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Talon please.." Leah pleaded with him quietly, forcing him to sit down at the table and try to ignore Derek's presence.

Jacob stayed quiet, watching the interactions between the man and his family patiently. Waiting to see how Leah would react and what exactly had brought him all the way from Bay City, Oregon to La Push. He glanced down to Leah whose back was still pressed lightly to his chest, her body seeming to only move closer to him rather than away. A gesture that of course could have resulted in jumps for joy or bubbly excitement, but being Jacob, and being in the situation he was in, he had to stay calm.

"What do you need?" The exasperation and strain in Leah's voice only fueled Talon's frustration, his emotions slowly leaking to Jacob.

"Can we talk outside?.." Derek looked around the room carefully, noting how many, and how large, the group was.

Leah only nodded and pointed to the back door that Derek hurried himself to. She moved past the table being caught by Talon and spun around softly.

"Remember what you told me… you promised…" He almost whispered, of course striking Jacob's and most everyone else's interest with his statement.

Leah rolled her eyes and nodded, following the trail of stench the man had made.

"Derek I cant believe you cam--"

"I want to marry you.." He cut her off, pulling out a box complete with diamond ring.

She stared at him in shock, not comprehending why he would ask her knowing she was leaving him. Though that in itself could have been the cause of his desperate act.

"De--"

"Leah please, let me finish… I want to spend my life with you. I love you.. We have built so much together, been through so much together. I know that things seem strained because of the constant fighting and my recent laziness but I'll change! I swear I will! You know I can be different, it wasn't that long ago that you and I were colleagues. I'll get a job and we can work together to make a family. I'll work with Talon, we can get past our differences. I'll spend more time with Hailey and get to know her better. Leah I can give you everything you want… you know that. You need me, remember?"

She was dumbfounded.

Her silence hadn't been brought on by thought, well not about marrying him anyways. Instead of thinking of him, she thought about her life. Somehow when he gave her that little speech it caused her to think very hard about the decisions she had made and where they were. She found herself frequently wanting to move back to La Push, to make things easier on Jacob and the kids. They loved him so much, she knew that. He and the two had grown so close even with the distance. Talon called Jacob almost everyday just to talk about whatever popped in his head and Hailey put together a collage of pictures every week of her, Talon, and secretly her mother, and sent it to him with a letter. Since she was eight she had done it every Sunday, and never failed. Thinking over all the times Jacob had tried to talk to her, tried to reason with her and discuss their problems, maybe try to work them out. She started to get sick thinking of all the times she wanted to go running back to him, all the times she almost couldn't stand how much she missed him. How much she wanted to tell him that she forgave him and that she was sorry for leaving. Though she still thought leaving was the best thing for the kids, a part of her wished she had stayed, or tried to get him to move with them. Of course it would have been in vein, but at least it was something. That word took her back to their conversation earlier, him telling her he just wanted her to do something.

At that moment it was almost like waking up. Like she had been asleep for thirteen years and had just opened her eyes and realized what she wanted. Not so much what she needed, but _wanted_.

"Well I asked her to marry me… and she said yes…" Derek's voice broke through her thoughts, pulling her back to reality.

Apparently he had led her back into the kitchen during her thoughtful moment and was announcing their "engagement".

She looked strait to Talon, who of course had his jaw to the floor. In a matter of seconds she knew he was going to attack Derek, even though he'd be angry with her, he would most defiantly take it out on him.

"No, I didn't!" She said loudly, pulling away from him and giving her son an apologetic look.

Though her denial didn't just relieve him, Jacob had almost went on a rampage. His jealousy slipping the slightest bit.

Leah pinched her nose and closed her eyes, knowing that either way this went she'd be the one reaping the consequences.

"Will you please just go back to Bay City? I'll talk to you when I get back…" She didn't look at him, nor open her eyes while she spoke.

"Whe--" Of course he was going to push, ask her when she'd be back. However, her son decided not to let him finish.

"She said leave!" Talon yelled from his seat, the aggravation the man brought was almost to much for him. Being a young shape shifter did have its disadvantages, lack of patience or control over your temper being two of them.

"Now, now. It's late. He can stay in the guest room until tomorrow.." Sue said, feeling a little sorry for the man.

"That's where I'm staying!" Leah looked at her mother, anger prominent.

"You and the kids can go stay with Jacob. That's where they will be staying for the summer anyways, might as well get their things unpacked. He has a guest room, you'll be fine." Of course Sue didn't mention that letting Derek stay and making Leah go to Jacob's was all Hailey's idea who sat quietly in the living room listening to everything play out.

Leah sighed heavily and punched her son in the shoulder as she passed, a silent signal to follow her, which he did, upstairs to get her things. She sat down on the bed when she entered, a very worn out and just flat tired expression placed firmly over her features.

During the few minutes they sat in silence Hailey and Jacob made their way to the bedroom, Hailey putting a hand to Jacob's chest to stay put. The two of them standing outside the door.

"Mom..--" Talon began his assault only to be stopped quickly by her hand held up firmly.

"Talon, I'm not doing this right now. I'm not marrying him okay, he asked me but you know I'm not. So can we please refrain from engaging in any arguments? I'm to tired to fight with you.." She said quietly, resting her elbows on her knees and face in her hands.

Her expression lightened his mood a bit, feeling guilty for making things worse. He sat down beside her and put his arm around her shoulders, hugging her to his side.

"It will be okay mom…" He tried to cheer her up, her mood being much like it was at that moment for the majority of the past two months.

She didn't answer, only sighed heavily. He stood and pulled her up with him, cupping her face in his hands.

"Look, I know it sucks at home right now… and you have every reason to be frustrated and tired, but while we're here… why don't you just try to relax a little? I mean we have dad and uncle Seth…and the rest of the gigantic group of people to keep us busy… just take it easy for a few days, huh?" Talon grinned at her, knowing he'd win. He always did.

He refused to allow his mother to be sad, or anything other than happy really. He would be the first to admit he was a momma's boy through and through. If she was cleaning the bathroom and he found out, he took over and made her go watch TV. If she came home from work and tried to do anything other than cook dinner, he made her quit. They had a routine that worked very well for the three. When the kids got home they cleaned up for Leah so that when she came home she'd just have dinner to worry about, then they spent their time after eating doing homework and spending time with her up until she went to bed. On the weekends they spent Friday and Saturday with friends and going off, Sundays they did their chores and spent the day with her doing nothing specific. Although they had wished they could be closer to their dad for most of their lives, Jacob's words stuck in their heads like glue. They never blamed her and always respected every decision she made, they did their part and helped her whenever they could.

"Alright, alright. Lets get these bags to the car.." She smiled warmly at him, confirming his victory. They reached the door and Hailey nonchalantly bumped into Talon, knocking the bags from his hands.

"Oh gee Hay… no big deal… I'm not standing here or anything…. don't worry yourself… I'll pick them up.." If there was one thing Talon had inherited from his mother, it was her sarcasm. Of course her daughter never came up short either.

Jacob laughed loudly, helping his son pick up the bags and carry them downstairs. Leah thought about taking her car, and honestly wanted to because spending the night with Jacob was rough enough, she didn't need a quiet car ride. But she was tired and really didn't feel like driving, so she took him up on his offer.

"I cant believe you still have this thing…" Leah looked around the cab of the Rabbit, amazed that he had kept it all that time.

"The body is the only thing that hasn't been replaced… everything else wore out eventually…" He laughed thinking of how much she hated his prized possession and how transfixed he'd been with it when he was sixteen.

The two kids reveled in the fact that they were in the car, with both parents, at the same time. They couldn't force their smiles away hoping that maybe, just maybe, they could do it this time. Even if it was only talking, that was better than what they usually got.

They arrived at the house and all carried their luggage into the fairly large living room waiting for instructions from Jacob.

"Okay, Hailey, your room is first on the left down this hall. Talon, yours is one door down. The bathroom is in between." He said pointing them in the direction.

"Okay love you guys, goodnight!" Talon said quickly grabbing his thinks and taking off to his room.

Jacob stared for a moment, a little confused with his son's eagerness to get out of there.

"He's got about four girls he has to call before two… that's his limit. After that they are out of luck… that's what he says anyway.." Hailey explained, earning muffled laughter from her parents.

"Right… so I love you guys… see you in the morning.." Hailey hugged them both and followed Talon's lead, bolting for her room.

"What's her excuse?" He asked curiously, noting the similarity in their actions.

"Boyfriend." Leah said simply, smirking at her kids behavior.

"New?"

"Nope, same one. They've been together for nine months now.." Leah said rolling her eyes.

"Great… alright follow me I'll take you to your room." Jacob picked up a few of her bags and led her up the stairs and down the hall to a very nicely put together guest room.

"Wow… this is nice…" She tried to be as civil as possible, though the awkwardness was slowly creeping in.

"Yep, well I'll let you get some sleep. There's extra blankets and pillows in the closet if you need them…. Anything else and I'm right down the hall…" He said before turning for the door.

Even after all that time it still hurt her to watch him walk away. Sure her holding a grudge may have been childish and a bit over dramatic but to her, it was more than appropriate. They would never understand why she was so angry, she knew that. But it didn't stop her. Though her feelings had been shifting over the past few months, it still didn't make it go away. She was still upset, still angry, still hurt. Yet she still found herself thinking about him frequently, always wondering what would have happened had she stayed. If they would have worked it out. Being there only made it worse. His scent, his smile, his heartbeat, and that night his eyes. That was the first time in thirteen years she had really seen them, really looked into them and let him see hers. Avoiding eye contact was the only way she successfully kept him away, kept him from breaking her down and forcing her to face him. The fact that he hadn't tried again was surprising, and a little disappointing. Hell, the fact that he was still waiting blew her mind completely. He always told her he'd never be with another, that she was the only person he wanted to spend his eternity with. Of course bitter feelings always called him a liar, but his eyes told her a different story. Everything was still there, every feeling, every emotion. All the fire she once saw when she looked into them was still burning brightly, her face still the only one she saw in them.

She situated herself under the sheets, unable to get comfortable. More so with her thoughts than the actual bed.

After a few hours she woke up halfway, leaving her room and exploring the house. There were pictures of the kids, of her, of the pack and their families all over the place. She checked on the kids once, Hailey asleep, Talon still awake.

"Why are you up so late?" She asked him groggily.

"Why are you?" He shot back, grinning.

"I don't know, I couldn't go back to sleep. Are you still on the phone?" She cocked an eyebrow as he shook his head.

"Nope, just texting. These chicks are crazy, ma , I swear. I don't know why I put myself through it…. They're just not worth it.." He said rolling his eyes, earning a laugh from Leah who hadn't meant for it to be that loud.

"So quit…" She said leaning on the doorway, glancing to some stupid cartoon playing on the TV screen.

"Uh.. No. I didn't say there were no benefits… I mean I just don't want to date the girls. They're all sensitive about us "being together" after we….. never mind…." He squeezed his eyes shut and pinched his nose, remembering who he was talking to.

"TALON! I do not want to hear that shit! What did I tell you about toying with those girls??" She was yelling, on accident of course, forgetting she was in someone else's house.

"No, no, no… what I meant to say is that I just have such strong feelings for all of them and I want to be a good boyfriend I jus--"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure that's what you meant to say. You are to young to be doing that stuff…" She lowered her voice hearing movement upstairs.

"How old were you?" An evil grin played on his lips, knowing how to get his mom off subject.

"None of your damn business, go to sleep before I hurt you." She tried her hardest not to laugh, and did good until she reached the kitchen.

She made herself a glass of water and sat at the table, trying her best to let sleep creep back to her. She got annoyed with her glass and moved to put it in the sink and didn't have to turn around to know who had entered the kitchen. His smell giving him away.

"Your up late…" He said getting a drink from the refrigerator.

"Yeah, I uh.. couldn't sleep…" She forced herself to turn around, wishing she hadn't soon after.

There he was, the same dark headed heart throb with gorgeous eyes and eye shattering body, standing at the fridge with only a pair of gym shorts. Everything exactly how she remembered it. Every hair, every muscle, every scar… some of which she placed on him.

"Did I wake you up?" She asked from the counter, supporting her weight on it.

"Nah, I have patrol. Why what were you doing?" He turned to her, the same emotions that ran through her taking their place with him.

He watched her face as she searched for her words, their friendly stance over the past day or so finding its peak with very few places left to go. She wasn't looking at him, as usual, but he thought about earlier that night in her mom's kitchen and decided to suck it up and move forward. So he did. She noticed his movement but didn't react, staying put and keeping her attention on the shiny hardwood the kitchen sported.

"I was talking to Talon… we got a little… well _I_ got a little loud…" She shifted uncomfortably, finding herself literally backed into a corner.

He didn't speak, only closed the distance and stood in front of her, boxing her in with his arms. Placing them on either side of her, posting himself on the counter she was leaning against. Their faces only a few inches apart.

"What's wrong?" He asked simply, staring at her eyes, waiting for her to return his gaze.

"What do you mean?" His question took her by surprise, leaving her unable to answer.

"Lets see, you cant sleep but your exhausted. You're obviously frustrated, the kids say you're having trouble at home… there must be a reason… so what is it?" He stayed focused, refusing to let her get out of it.

She looked up to him, meeting his gaze, his obvious emotions and hers mixing and overwhelming her. She let herself explore his eyes, both of them telling her so much without saying a word.

"Honestly?" Leah asked quietly, noticing his body moving closer to hers ever so slowly.

"That would be nice…" He breathed, the space between them continuously closing and leaving her a bit breathless.

"I want to come home.." Her words slapped him across the face, causing him to pull back a bit. He dug into her eyes with his, searching for any sign of it being a joke. That she was toying with him.

But as she allowed him to tear them apart, the intensity that was building in his eyes boring into hers, he found nothing. She was being honest with him, completely sincere. Her eyes slowly started to water, the area around them turning a light shade of red just like the tip of her nose. She averted her gaze to his chest and shifted a little, feeling her resolve falling apart. He placed his hand on the side of her face, pressing his forehead to hers. Hesitantly, she placed her hand on his chest, allowing herself to fall into him the slightest bit. She could feel her eyes filling with long held tears, one of the many escaping and falling down her cheek.

****Slow chapter, I know! The next one has some interesting turns so no worries! (: Leave me reviews and let me know what you think!!! I updated two stories in one night, oh yeah, I'm bad. (: lol. Like I said, I'll be bringing other characters back soon, but their family interactions are very important. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and are following!****


	9. Bonding

"Then come home…" He whispered into her cheek, ready to wake up at any moment, still finding the situation a little unbelievable.

"I cant, I have a job… I just bought a house not to long ago, I cant just leave…" She was ready to break, their close position flooding her head with memories, making her want him that much more.

Of course through all the hard feelings and bitter thoughts she had so frequently, she never stopped loving him. She had just never allowed herself to get that close, to let him touch her or get through her long holding resolve. After thirteen years of fighting, there she stood, slowly letting him inch his way back into her life. She was tired of fighting, tired of doing things alone, though a lot of it she had chosen to do by herself, it still didn't make it any easier. It didn't make her days any shorter, or any less stressful. It didn't make the week go by quicker or work any less nerve wracking. It didn't make having no family or friends around suck any less, or the kids constant desire to be with Jacob and the pack any weaker. So she looked up, trying desperately to decide what was best. Not just for the kids but for herself, La Push never looking as good as it did right then.

"Forget about all that, we can help you take care of it. There are always jobs at the hospital in Forks… you don't have to stay here with me… I know that would probably be hard….. You can stay with your mom until you find a house…. Let us help you…. Let me help you… they're my kids too, you shouldn't have to deal by yourself.." He was fighting the urge to just yank her up and squeeze her, the thought that she was considering moving home becoming a bit overwhelming.

Leah stood for a moment, contemplating what he said. Her eyes were settling down as they engaged in a regular conversation, giving her something other than him to think about. She heard a distant voice, calling Jacob's name from outside. Followed by a frustrated sigh from him as he looked to the ceiling and closed his eyes.

"I'm coming!!" He shouted, obviously knowing who it was.

She remembered the reason he said he'd got up in the first place and understood immediately.

He looked at her apologetically, unable to mask his worry that she wouldn't talk to him again, that she would close back up completely and he'd have to start all over. It had taken thirteen years to get that far, how long would it take if she shut him out again?

"We'll talk later…." She eased his building anxiety when she spoke, giving him a small smile.

He backed away from her, taking his warmth and comfort with him. Leaving her almost wanting to follow, to stay close fearing she wouldn't get to that point with him again. A fear that both shared, but for different reasons. He turned for the door but stopped halfway and turned back around.

"Don't leave… please… stay for a few days… talk to me… that's all I'm asking for. I know I really don't have the right to ask you for anything, but please, just this once. Listen to what I have to say, give me a chance. After that if you still--… if you still don't want to do this… if you still want to leave. Then I'll never bother you again…" He was choking on his words, scared to death of her answer. Of all the years he had been silently fighting with her, he'd never actually asked for her to listen. Never allowed the opening for actual rejection.

"Okay…" She agreed. There was no hesitation, after hearing what he said she was more than willing. In a way wanting to hear his story, then again really not wanting to deal with everything she'd left behind.

"Thank you Leah, I'll see you when I get home.." His smile was ten miles wide, the excitement and anticipation bubbling uncontrollably in his stomach and chest.

She couldn't help but smile back, that all to familiar expression forcing her to long for the way they used to be, how happy they were when they first started. How hopelessly devoted they had been without ever voicing it. That's what was different. Back then she had been heartbroken, betrayed by the love of her life and cousin, mourning the loss of her father, dealing with phasing and the pack. Back then it was okay for them to just act, to keep what they were feeling and thinking to themselves, because they didn't care. She knew she loved him, and she knew that he loved her. But after doubt is placed, its hard to take away. She wanted him to tell her, she wanted to hear it from him. She wanted to tell him.

"So…." Hailey emerged from around the corner, a very large smile present.

"What are you doing up??" Leah quickly questioned, turning to be sure her veneer had returned.

"Oh nothing.. Just heard talking… what were you and dad talking about?" Before she could answer Talon ran into the kitchen, a hurried expression over his features.

"Where's dad???" He asked loudly, looking around.

"He just left to go on patrol, why?" Of course Leah felt a small sense of worry overcome her, in all honesty he was freaking her out a bit.

"I wanted to go with him, if he says its okay, can I?" Talon's face said it all, she knew that one day they'd want to join the pack, both of them. She also knew she'd never be ready.

She paused for a moment, thinking it over, unsure of how Jacob would respond.

"Yes, stay here." She left through the back door, stripping and phasing, not going to far since she was only trying to talk to Jacob.

"_Leah?" _Seth broke into her mind, a place nobody but her kids had been in a very long time.

"_Yeah, I need to speak with Jacob._" She said cautiously, feeling a little awkward.

"_What's wrong?_" Taking into consideration that she hadn't phased with them in such a long period of time, her doing so was bound to scare him a little.

"_Nothing, um… Talon wants to go with you guys… would you mind him tagging along…. Maybe showing him how its done?_" She sat at the wood line, staring into the darkness, a little surprised when Jacob's large russet figure appeared in front of her.

He was bigger than she remembered, though no matter how many times she'd seen him phased, she could never get over his size.

"_Why don't we all go? Tell them to come on, you me and Seth can show them everything._" He answered her softly, the hard façade he put on every time they patrolled or came across an enemy melting with her presence.

"_umm…." _She was a little hesitant, not to sure about being linked to him just yet.

"_Please mom!!!_" Hailey asked loudly, appearing beside her. Talon not far behind.

Her kids were completely different then every wolf they had ever come across. Both had long coats, though Talon's hair was short. Talon's fur was a complete mix, the base being exactly like Jacob's spreading all over his body being the prominent color. But he had white and grey strips and spots all over him, patches on both eyes. One grey, one white. Everyone that saw him phased was in love, his gorgeous colors and fur overtaking his massive size and build. Hailey was similar, though her prominent color was of course grey, like her mother's. The patches on her eyes white, and russet. They were both quite beautiful.

"_Okay… lets go…_" She stood and followed behind Jacob, both kids following her yelling with excitement.

The five of them began running the circuits they created so long ago, Jacob introducing them to the newer ones they had created recently due to paranoia after the war. They showed them how to follow specific scents, how to block others out. How to do the same with their hearing, only listening to what they needed to hear. They showed them which trails were the most dangerous, which ones rarely ever had something happen on them. Leah showed them how to use their speed without running into everything in site, Jacob and Seth showed them how to blow through them if necessary without hurting themselves. Finally they entered a clearing, the five stopping to take a breather.

"_What made you want to come?_" Jacob asked Talon, who sat tall beside him.

"_I don't know, I was just curious. I wanted to see what it was like to do what you do…_" He answered but really didn't have to say anything, his eagerness to be involved with the pack showing through his thoughts.

"_Um… could I ask you a question?…. It's kind of… personal I guess…_" Hailey piped in from her rested position on the ground, her head on her paws.

"_Sure, anything._" Jacob answered her, letting himself relax to the ground as the others were, Talon following.

"_Well… I was wondering… if you could tell us a few things about…. When you went to war_." Hailey spoke quietly, unsure of the depth of her question.

In all the years they had spent with Jacob, neither had asked about the war. Assuming it was a touchy subject since they never heard anyone in the pack so much as speak of it. Seth shifted uncomfortably after the question was asked, and Jacob silently wished he had been a little more careful when he said anything. But, he figured they'd ask eventually and was as ready as he'd ever be. Seth on the other hand had no intentions of reliving it through thoughts.

Leah watched as her brother moved back into the trees, coming back human and taking a seat beside her.

She gave him a questioning look but he just shrugged and laid down, staring up at the sky.

"_What do you want to know?_" Jacob kept his voice strong, not wanting to make them uncomfortable with asking him about it. Refusing to show how much it bothered him.

"_Why did you have to go?_" Question number one, easy enough right?

"_The Volturi wanted to kill Renesmee, Edward and Bella's daughter, because they thought she couldn't be controlled and would kill a lot of people… well, they came and we convinced them that she was part human and was no threat. So they left. About a month later we got word that a few of the Volturi's strongest had killed the three that were in charge, taking over and leading their army back here to take Renesmee.. And to kill all of us. So, we decided to meet them halfway, keep it away from our home as best we could. So that's what we did. We teamed up with the Cullens and all of their allies, and a few packs from around in this area agreed to help us._"

Jacob watched for their reactions as he showed them images of the other packs and their council members, the Cullens and their friends. It took him a minute to show them, trying as best he could to filter out anything he didn't want them to see.

"_So how long were you gone?_" Question number two, still pretty simple.

"_Four years…._" Leah answered for him, knowing the answer all to well.

"_What was it like? Did you sleep outside? Were you always in wolf form? Did you try to talk to them first?_" Question number three, four, five and six… getting a bit closer to where he didn't want to go.

"_yes, we stayed outside. Always phased. We tried our best to talk them down, to make some sort of agreement. But they wouldn't listen, they had no intentions of leaving us or her alone. They would have killed everyone had we not gone. Women, children, it didn't matter to them and it only took a few minutes in front of them to realize it…. And as for what it was like…. It was like nothing I'd ever want to experience again… I try everyday to forget it._"

Jacob's voice shifted, a tinge of sadness and regret lacing his words. Hailey sensed the change and decided not to go any further with asking about the actual events.

"_Were you hurt?_" Question number seven, much better.

"_At one point yes, I uh… I was in a ditch for about four days before someone found me and took me back to the little camp we had set up. That was the worst, the others were only small injuries, ones I could still fight with…_"

Hailey had a thousand more questions, just like Talon, they wanted to know everything. But before she could get question number eight out of her mouth they heard a rustle and Sam's scent invaded the clearing.

He came out in human form, motioning for Jacob to phase and talk with him. He did so, telling the three to stay put until he was finished.

After about ten minutes he returned to them, phasing shortly after.

"_What was that about?_" Leah asked curiously as they made their way back to the house, the sun starting to peek over the trees.

"_We're having a get together this week…. The packs that helped us are coming and were having like a sort of reunion…we've done it twice before. He was just confirming that they will all be there. And uh… and telling me that Jared's daughter will be coming to stay here for the summer…_" Jacob looked towards her, receiving the questioning glance he knew he'd get.

"_She's not Kim's… while we were gone… he slept with one of the imprints and she got pregnant. She comes to visit whenever her mother's husband is away.. Which is pretty frequently, Hailey has met her a few times I think… do you remember Alex?_"

"_Yes! I remember her, she's really sweet._" Hailey of course befriended the girl every time they met, being the overly caring person that she is.

"_I cant believe Jared has a daughter and I didn't even know…_" Leah thought hard about all the times she's visited and never once spoke to anyone about how they were doing other than Seth, Sue and Billy, leaving her out of almost everything that went on.

"_Yeah, there's a lot you don't know."_ Jacob said sternly, the double meaning obvious to anyone who was listening.

Instead of taking offense she just nodded, knowing he was right. They reached the house and all phased, Hailey heading to the shower, Talon to his room waiting for his turn in the bathroom.

"So… does Kim know?" Leah asked Jacob who was standing at the sink, staring out the window.

"Yeah, he told her as soon as Kim came back. They stayed separated for a while, but eventually worked it out. That's how it worked with Emily too… Rachel was just glad to have Paul back. So was Danny." Jacob's words dug into her, thinking of how she showed up with his kids then left.

"YO!!! I heard my name!" Paul burst through the back door, smiling widely.

"Hey Lee Lee, what's up?" He hugged her tightly before releasing and looking her up and down.

"Nice to see you to Paul…" She laughed as he continued to stare at her.

"Looking good, as usual. Did I ever tell you how absolutely sexy you are??" He smirked, knowing that she'd catch on to the game they used to play.

"Did I ever tell you how close Rachel and I are?" She shot back, slapping his face softly. He laughed and held his hands up in defeat.

Embry and Quil walked through the door and smiled at her, both of them giving her a devious glance.

"Whatever you two are thinking I suggest you think twice…" She warned, holding her finger up as if she were talking to one of her kids.

"Sorry… doesn't work that way with us…" Embry said almost laughing, inching closer to her.

"Jacob call off your dogs!!" She yelled across the kitchen to Jacob who still stood by the sink, Sam joining him.

He laughed and shook his head, pretending he had no clue what she was talking about. After they had her backed into the wall Embry held his arms out to her, his devious grin dropping and being replaced with a sincere one.

"I was just kidding Lee, just give me a hug and we'll call it even?" He waited patiently and she gave in after only a few seconds, wrapping her arms around his torso and placing her face on his shoulder.

He squeezed her tightly, rocking her the slightest bit, and pressed his face to her forehead.

"Why'd you take so long?" He asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" She peeked up at him and he was looking at her, a small smirk present.

"We were never the enemy Leah, we didn't leave you on purpose. I'd have rather had you with us, and trust me, he wished everyday that you were there… I know… I was in his head for four years." Embry glanced over to Jacob who was chatting cheerfully with Talon who had entered and was attempting to get Sam and Jacob to teach him to fight.

Leah followed his gaze, watching as Jacob and Sam led Talon outside.

"I know… it was just really hard… a lot happened." She glanced up to him, an apologetic expression placed firmly on his face.

"We heard… after you left with Talon and Hailey the first time we met them, Rachel told us everything. And for your information, that was the first time in almost my entire life I saw Jacob actually cry…. Like break down in sobs and tears kind of cry. I'm not trying to make you feel bad, I'm just telling you the truth. He wont tell you how much it hurt him because he thinks he deserves it… you should talk to him Leah, he's been trying for thirteen years. Don't you think you could give him a break?"

Embry hugged her one more time before heading for the door.

"Excuse me while I go watch Jacob beat Talon's ass…." He smirked at her and closed the door.

"Dad you're not being fair!!" Talon yelled, trying to push his father off of him.. To no avail.

"No, you're just not doing it right.." Jacob laughed, putting no excessive amount of effort into pinning Talon down.

The pack had gathered around, all giving points and tips, showing Talon everything they knew. Even Danny was helping, though he hadn't been phasing for very long, he had been around them his entire life, minus four years of course. Matched against someone like one of the "pups" or younger shape shifters, Talon won every time. Even with Quil and Embry he held his own, but due to Sam and Jacob's very large builds and Jacob's natural alpha instincts, he stood no chance.. Not yet anyway.

Through all the hooping and hollering nobody noticed a car pulling in, accept for Jared who went to meet the visitors. Bringing back with him, Alex, his daughter who was about the same age as Talon and Hailey. Talon had just finished beating Colin into a figurative pulp, standing and facing Jared and his daughter, his world stopping shortly after. He had seen her before, met her once, and heard of her a thousand times through the other younger boys and some around La Push. But for some reason, at that moment, when he caught site of her he fell, and fell hard. He didn't imprint, she was a shape shifter, it was impossible. However his mother and father were walking talking proof that sometimes it doesn't have to be imprinting to be unbreakable. Even though they hadn't quite realized it yet, it was still there.

After she spoke to everyone else in the group saying her hellos, she approached Talon, extending her hand and smiling warmly.

"Hi, I'm Alex. I'm not sure if you remember me…." She said as he took her hand, a smile playing on his lips.

"Talon… and yeah I do… you and my sister hung out over spring break once I think.." He played it cool, not giving off the slightest sign of nerves.

He didn't know that after that moment everything would change, that his families world that was just beginning to be put back together would once again be tampered with. Of course he didn't notice, he was to transfixed with the girl in front of him, which was precisely what would get him in trouble.

****Alrighty, again I found myself so involved with writing family and pack interactions I ALMOST forgot to throw in one of the important parts. But didn't. (: So, it should pick up from here. Still some chapters might seem a little slow because there are still a lot of issues with the family and some like Derek to be worked out. Be patient. I have a plan. No worries. Lol. Reviews = love. (:****


	10. Broken

_Four days later, day of the "reunion" with the other packs…._

Talon sat at the picnic table with Alex, listening to her complain about her pack and how much she wished she lived in La Push with her dad. Although she visited often, her mother's husband had no idea she wasn't his, or that she spent her free time with another pack. Such a discovery would mean exile or even death for her and her mother. It would also most likely lead to a fight between Jared and her mother's husband, or between both backs. Depending on how far his alpha would allow it to go.

"Talon, Alex, lets go!" Jacob yelled across the lawn, motioning for them to get in the car.

"Hey I'm going to ride with Jared and Alex…" Talon announced to his mother and father, Leah narrowing her eyes at him.

"Don't you even think about it…" She said quietly to him, earning a loud laugh.

"We're just friends mom, she's cool.." He rolled his eyes and shrugged it off.

"I'm riding with grandma and uncle Seth…" Hailey yelled as she ran to Sue's car, leaving Leah and Jacob alone… again.

Jacob agreed to drive Leah's car, well SUV, due to lack of space for the coolers and such in the rabbit. It was about a forty five minute drive to the park they were holding the get together, the only one really big enough to hold all of them. A total of four packs, including theirs, would be attending. The first few minutes were silent between the two, Jacob not wanting to push, and Leah not knowing where to begin.

"Do you want to go first?" She asked looking towards him, turning in her seat so that her body was facing the driver's side. She had been staying with him for five days, everyday becoming more and more comfortable for her.

She had avoided Derek the entire time until he just left, agreeing to talk to her when she returned. The pack had been at Jacob's house everyday they had been staying with him, all wanting to hang out with the two teenagers they found so interesting. Leah and Jacob hadn't had a chance to talk due to lack of privacy, but had both been working nicely together doing everyday things. Making dinner, playing with the kids, visiting family and just hanging out in general. Making the atmosphere much more agreeable between them and that resulted in a much more relaxed state for their "talk". She was surprised at herself for initiating it, finding herself wanting desperately to talk to him and hear what he had to say.

"Sure, where do you want me to start?" He asked calmly, smiling at her and waiting for her response.

"Why didn't you call me? Or text… or _something_… just to let me know you were okay?" The first question was a fairly safe one, not likely to erupt any strong emotions.

"Who do you think told Sue to send the one message you did get? I know that it was only the second month we were gone, but after that there were no phones. We had nothing. No way to get in touch with anyone, no clothes, no decent food. We were literally living like wolves…" He said smirking a little at his statement.

"What happened? Like what changed…. what took so long?" She was looking dead at him, a gesture she had once been scared to death of, she now found quite easy. Wanting to see his every reaction, every facial expression. What hurt, what didn't. What bothered him, what was easiest.

He sighed heavily, the question obviously striking a nerve. Not necessarily with her, just with having to go back over details. Details he tried so hard to forget.

"We fought them for about four months before we really broke ground. We started driving them back, cutting their numbers in half and picking them off quickly after that. We reached a point when we started thinking we were finished, that we were going home… until Jane and Alec brought in an unbelievable number of newborns and set them loose on us. Over the next four years they continued to create them any time we'd start making progress, eventually bringing in other wolves to aid them. That made things a lot more complicated, their packs were obnoxiously strong, large in numbers. We were all tired and worn, so staying alive after that was really just… I don't even know what…. We just wanted to get home…. So we pushed through it and made it somehow. Finally killing off Jane, Alec ran after that."

He spoke loud and clear, every word sinking into her and relieving a bit of bitterness with each one. Hearing an explanation for her questions proving to be much more satisfying than she ever believed possible.

"Answer me honestly when I ask you this, why didn't you let me go with you? Why did you make me stay here alone to take care of everyone?" She had thought over it a million times. She didn't believe that he had to, that she was the only one he trusted enough to keep them safe.

"You asked me the same question the night before I left, and I answered you honestly then. I've never lied to you Leah, when you ask me something I always tell you the truth. I don't understand why you think I would lie?" There was a hit of offense in his voice, a small sense of hurt flashing across his eyes.

"I just don't understand why you would do that to me…. You don't know what it was like being here alone. They were like zombies… sad all the time, always moping and crying. Then I found out I was pregnant and that was just… I almost just wanted to give up. I didn't want to do it alone.. I needed you! The whole time I was wandering around with _our_ babies in my stomach I was constantly worried about vampires and pissed off pack members…. That someone would come and hurt us and there was nothing I could do. I needed you there with me when I had them, that's all I could think about. I needed you more than I have ever needed you and you weren't there.. Nobody was… can you blame me for being angry with you?"

She was getting upset, her breaths were heavy, her eyes slowly starting to burn. Jacob listened patiently and when she was finished pulled into the parking lot of a gas station, slamming the car into park and turning roughly to face her. The intensity his eyes held burning holes through her. He was angry, and upset, and hurt. She could see it all clearly in those burning pools that had just so drastically shifted.

"You think it was easy for me? You think that I just fucked around and wasted time while you dealt with all of that? Leah we were at WAR!! I wasn't having fun, I wasn't purposely staying away. I was constantly fighting for my life, I was constantly fighting to keep _our_ pack alive, to keep _our _parents alive!! Everything I did while I was there I did for YOU! The only reason I came home, the only reason I held on and decided to live with everything I had done was YOU!! Just to keep that fucking promise I made to you before I left. And I did. YOU broke YOUR promise Leah. You said you'd be here waiting for me, you said you would always be here. You have no fucking idea what I went through, what I did to see you again. You were my everything! You were the only reason I wanted to be here, the only reason I wanted to stay alive. I would give **ANYTHING** to take it all back and stay here. To be there for you while you were pregnant and get to experience all of it with you, I would give my fucking LIFE to have been there when they were born. To see them as babies and go through everything you got to go through. You say that it sucked doing it alone but at least you got to do it! I got drug through hell and back for FOUR YEARS! Dammit **you** left **me!! **I needed you too ya know? When I came back I was in pieces! I needed you just as much as you needed me and you fucking left! I wanted to be there for you and Talon and Hailey… I wanted to help you and be there for them while they grew up. But no… I've waited thirteen years… THIRTEEN YEARS…. And I'm still falling apart…"

Tears were streaming freely from his eyes, both of them pleading and pained. His face was soaked and he was yelling. He tried his hardest to stay calm, to let the conversation be casual and slowly paced. But she broke him. The massive, strong, never faltering alpha who single handedly pulled his pack and council out of war, who saved all of their lives with no help, was broke. Newborn vampires he could deal with, werewolves and packs of shape shifters, vamps with super powers…. All a piece of cake. But when it came to everything he had missed, everything he wished he'd done different, when it came down to Leah and his kids. He was completely and utterly broke.

He stared at her for a long moment, watching as her own tears covered her face, her own eyes letting the pain and regret surface and show itself clearly. His phone vibrated and snapped him from his moment. Wiping his face and taking a deep breath he answered.

"Yeah?" His voice was as strong as ever, showing no signs that he had just laid his heart out for Leah. That he had allowed himself to fall back into the misery he dealt with everyday, the misery and anguish Leah never knew existed.

"We saw you stop, you okay?" Embry's voice came from the other end, genuine concern lacing it.

"Yeah, I had to go to the bathroom. We're right behind you…" Jacob held his façade, sounding as content as ever. Forcing Leah to wonder how many times he had done that to her, how many times he'd successfully pretended to be alright when in reality he was falling apart.

"Jake…. You sure you're okay?" Embry seemed to understand without Jacob ever leading him to believe anything other than he was using the bathroom.

"I'm good Em, we're on the way." He shut the phone and ran a hand down his face, sighing loudly.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore… not right now…" She couldn't get over how defeated he sounded, and how much she wanted to carry on the conversation despite how upset they had both gotten.

She hadn't expected much different, both had held onto their feelings for so long they were bound to come out a little dramatized. She just hadn't expected for his words to impact her the way they did. Instead of only feeling for herself, she felt horrible for him. For the pack and for neglecting to support them when they needed it most. Even though they seemed to understand why she left and why she stayed away, that still didn't make her feel any better. She really just hadn't realized how hurt they really were from the war, how much it really bothered and effected them. How it effected him.

"I'm sorry Jacob…" She spoke gently, placing her hand on his arm that was firmly placed on the wheel preparing to pull out of the parking lot.

He closed his eyes and sighed, looking to the ceiling for a moment before nodding and beginning the drive.

"I'm sorry for yelling… lets just do this later…. I thought I could keep calm but apparently I cant.." He seemed frustrated with his lack of self control, having kept it very tame over the past thirteen years due to his children's presence and his fear of scaring them.

"Alright, lets just try and have a good time, kay? You'll have to introduce me to everyone…" She smiled warmly at him, attempting to wipe some of the wetness from her face.

"Will do.." He smiled back, stopping at a red light and reaching to her face, gently removing the last few drops. His hand lingering on her cheek while he waited to continue the drive.

She placed her hand over his, rubbing it softly. The tears both of them had just gotten rid of resurfacing with the contact, only to be blinked away and shrugged off with the green light.

They arrived at the park a while later, able to carry on a casual conversation for the majority of the ride. They drove around the parking lot until they spotted Talon, Hailey, Danny, Clair and Alex standing by Sue's car apparently waiting on them. Moving to their car to help carry stuff out as they parked.

"Well, here we go…" Jacob said looking to the large group of men gathered in the field. All laughing and carrying on.

He secretly had a very tense feeling about the afternoon's gathering. Just as he had every other time remembering the last time they had been together on the battle field, all ready to turn on each other and some doing so. Jacob having to not only stop the fighting, but ended up killing two of the alpha, Nashoba's, pack members. Resulting in a bit of bad blood between the two. He worried about it then more than ever because his family was with him. Even though he loved having them with him, it made things a lot more complicated due to the fact that without them he had no weaknesses. But bringing them into the mix put him in a very delicate position, almost walking on egg shells trying to avoid any confrontation. Talon knocked on his window motioning for him to join them, so he faked a smile, masking his worry. And took his place with his family, still overjoyed that they were all together. How long it would last, he still couldn't be sure.

****Okay so this one was mostly Leah/Jacob. I didn't add much else to avoid overwhelming anyone with a chapter full of different scenarios. Alex plays a huge part in the story line so pay attention to her parts, of course Talon playing a large roll also. The kids end up being a main part of the plot, Leah and Jacob being the prominent characters of course but they are all vital to the story. (: I'm getting there, next chapter has a lot go on so hope you enjoy. Will update I Run to You sometime today or later tonight. Reviews = Love. They help me write. Lol. As bad as that sounds, its true. Thanks so much for reading!!****


	11. Realization

Leah had tagged along with Jacob the entire day, being introduced to people, hearing stories from them about how wonderful Jacob was and finding his reaction to them quite funny. They were seated at one of the picnic tables like most everyone else was at that moment, waiting for the food to be ready. Hailey, Alex and Clair were sitting on one side of it. While Jacob, Leah, Quil and Talon sat on the other. All talking and laughing loudly at nothing in particular. Jacob's worry had been forgotten after talking to everyone and finding nothing was really out of place, everyone seeming to be pretty friendly and calm. Until a man they called Rex appeared, they never learned his real name so just gave him a pet one.

"Well, if it isn't Jacob Black…" He said leaning on the edge of the table.

Quil looked to Jacob with a very uneasy expression, pulling Leah and Talon a few inches away from him.

"Rex… how's it going?" Jacob spoke calmly, looking to the large man with a genuinely friendly smile.

"Fairly well… now who does this little group consist of… I don't think I've met any of them other than Mr. Ateara over there…" Rex grinned at Quil as he scanned everyone else at the table trying to place them.

Jacob sat uncomfortably for a minute, watching who was once his ally look over everyone at the table, obviously interested.

"Well, these two are mine… Hailey and Talon…" Jacob said pointing between the twins,

"This is a friend of ours, Alex…" He motioned to her and gave her a small wink, reminding her not to let it slip that she was Jared's.

"This is Leah, Hailey and Talon's mother… and Quil's imprint, Clair." Jacob finished, looking back to the man who seemed a bit to intrigued.

"Hmm. They are all shape shifters… all but the one?" Rex questioned, staring intently between the three teenagers.

"It's been good seeing you again, maybe we can talk after we eat?" Jacob tried to change the subject without being to blunt, knowing it would cause problems. Though it seemed to anyway.

Rex's head shot back to Jacob, an angry expression flooding him. Followed by a quivering smile.

"So do they know you're a murderer?" Even though the words were spoken to Jacob, they caused Quil to cringe. Jacob's relaxed features slowly becoming more agitated.

"Rex, walk away." Jacob said simply, remembering why he had been worried in the first place. Of course he would still be angry with Jacob, just his luck right?

"Like you did? Without so much as an apology…. I don't think I can do that."

The table's mood changed drastically, Quil finding the situation all but friendly and switching seats with Talon to get him further away. Leah refusing to move, watching with an understanding confusion, having no idea what was going on. The girls on the other side of the table slowly inching away from the end the man stood at, watching his frame as it began to shake. Quil began searching the area for Sam, being the only one that was ever capable of keeping situations like the one arising calm, and the only one able to even remotely detain Jacob. Jacob's face tensed, he pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned forward resting his elbows on the table.

"Then let's go talk somw---" Rex shut him out, ignoring what he had to say and interrupting very quickly.

"Why so they don't have to hear it? How fair is that? They should know who you are right…. isn't that what family is about??" Rex's tone was making them all very uncomfortable, an almost hysteric tinge to it. He sat down beside Hailey, looking to her and smiling.

Of course earning a very unfavorable reaction from her father. He still spoke quietly, never raising his voice, leaning across so that Rex could hear him clearly.

"If you don't get up and walk away from this table, I will drag your ass away and kill you right here in front of God and everybody…" The honesty in his voice was unsettling.

Just like Leah and everyone else's eyes at the table were glued to the closing proximity between Hailey and Rex, Hailey's eyes were glued to her father.

"Now Jacob, I'm just trying to be friendly. You and I were so close back in the day, I'm a little offended that we were not invited to this little get together…" Rex continued to scoot closer, flashing his eyes between Jacob and Hailey.

Although Jacob knew what he was doing, that he was only trying to test him and see how far he'd let him go. How defensive he would get. But, being her father, and being the overprotective person that he is, one whose temper will be non existent until you bring his children into the conversation. He couldn't stop himself. He slammed his fist down on the table causing everyone, including Rex, to jump.

"There's a reason you weren't invited, you and your pack aren't welcome here. Now leave." Jacob's voiced boomed throughout the gathering, catches his pack's attention, along with everyone else's. The alphas of the other packs standing to gather behind Jacob, showing their united decision to exclude Rex and his pack members.

"Why are we being shunned you're the one who---.." Rex of course was damn determined to bring up hard feelings, but was cut off before he could finish.

"I don't give a shit who did what, I've warned you once… this is the last time I'm going to tell you… get up and leave.." Rex stared at him for a moment, a large grin spreading.

"Nashoba wants to speak with you…" Was all he said before rising and sauntering to the woods, erupting a sort of panic in Jacob's stomach, their entire family all being gathered together in one place. All easy targets.

Jacob stood up immediately, turning to the other alphas.

"Send everyone home, now. Council members included." They all nodded and passed the word to their pack members who spread throughout the open park and began gathering everyone and sending them to their cars.

Jacob turned back to the table, avoiding eye contact with everyone but Quil, and gave them the same orders. Sue appearing behind him and started trying to usher Clair and the other girls away, Hailey and Alex refusing to go.

"I'm not leaving.." Leah told Jacob who still refused to look at her.

"Please Leah… take the kids and go home, we'll be there shortly." He told her as he helped Sue pack up the coolers, the rest of the pack all walking over and doing the same.

"They can go with mom, I'm staying here.." She moved to him and started gathering sacks to carry to the cars.

"Dad, please let us stay. I don't want to leave you here.." Hailey spoke softly as she approached him, handing off the last of the coolers to Embry. He turned to her then, a small smile creeping onto his face.

"Now you and I both know I can take care of myself… you and Talon need to go help your grandma and the others.." He put his arm around her shoulder and led her to where they were standing and waiting.

"What's going on?" Talon asked him as they approached.

"I just have to talk to someone.." Jacob answered a little evasively, not really wanting to discuss the severity of Nashoba's pack being there.

"Can I stay?" Jacob would have loved to have his son stay with him, to stand with him and really get involved with the pack. But given how angry Nashoba was with Jacob, and how long he's held on to the grudge, he decided against it.

"Not this time, this really isn't a good learning experience… just make sure your sister and everyone else gets home safely." He ruffled Talon's hair before turning around and walking back to where the rest of the pack waited. Leah right beside him.

They reached the group, not saying a word and waited for Nashoba to show himself. When he emerged from the woods Jacob stepped forward, Sam and Leah standing right behind him.

"Jacob, so good to see you again… it's been a very long time.." Nashoba reached Jacob, his pack all slowly creeping from the woods.

"Sure, sure. What do you want? I thought we had an agreement?" Jacob stated simply, folding his arms and eyeing the still emerging pack. Noticing how much it had grown since the last time he'd encountered them.

"I know but you see, I found the fact that we were left out of this little gathering a little disturbing. So, I thought we could all eat together and discuss our presence over the next few weeks… I have business below La Push with Torrence and his people, I needed to request permission from you."

Jacob was of course a little reluctant, their pack wasn't very friendly and not only his friends children, but his own, would be running around the entire summer. They wouldn't always have someone watching them.

But as far as business went, he had no good reason not to let them.

"Well we were just finishing up here, but I'll give you the permission you need. Just be sure not to cross our borders, we don't want any trouble…" Jacob said retaining his relaxed veneer, extending his hand and shaking Nashoba's.

Over the next few minutes Jacob and Nashoba went over where the La Push borders started and ended, and when they patrolled to avoid any unfavorable run ins. When they were finished they seemed to depart on friendly terms, a drastic change from their last encounter which of course didn't sit well with most of the pack. As they walked back to the parking lot they were silent, none of them to sure what to make of an unfriendly pack being so close to home. Jacob offered to drive Leah home, both climbing in the car.

"What was Rex talking about?" Leah finally spoke about twenty minutes into the drive.

"Which part?" He scoffed, glancing at her momentarily to find she was staring at him.

"Oh I don't know, the part where he called you a murderer…or when he said you walked away… or--"

"I get it. I killed two of theirs back when we were working together, I refused to be associated with them after that. They got pissed because I wouldn't apologize or allow them to aid us anymore…. They still blame me… they're still mad at me… all that fun stuff."

Leah watched him while he spoke, his jaw clenching and unclenching, his hand gripping the steering wheel with almost to much force.

"What happens now that they are going to be around?" She kept to the point, with genuine concern seeing as she was supposed to leave the kids there. The idea not sitting to well anymore, not without her anyway.

"We just double patrols, keep everyone within running distance. Anytime the kids or the others go somewhere they'll just have to check in with us and let us know…." He ran his hand down his face, a million thoughts of what could happen running through his head.

When she didn't answer him he said what he figured she wanted to hear, giving her a way out without feeling guilty.

"You can take the kids back with you when you go if you don't feel comfortable with them being here while all this shit is going on… I know it's dangerous. I would understand…" He said softly, his head resting on his hand while he drove.

"We're not going anywhere Jacob…." She didn't look at him, knowing her words carried a very large weight.

They rode the rest of the way in silence. Arriving at the house to find it empty, Hailey and Talon most likely being at Sue's for the night. The first few minutes were pretty awkward, both moving around the kitchen getting drinks and such. Leah sat at the table reading bits and pieces out of the newspaper while Jacob got in the shower, reentering a few minutes later soaking wet wearing only his infamous black gym shorts.

"So, have you dated anyone recently?" Leah asked from her seat, smirking deviously.

"No, don't exactly have time. Plus everyone around here is afraid of us, doesn't make having a steady girlfriend easy. Their families usually disapprove." He said almost laughing as he made himself a bowl of cereal.

"So what do you do? Just date them until their families find out?" He took the seat beside her, turning most of his attention to the gigantic bowl in front of him.

"Uh… well… not exactly…" He said uneasily, peeking at her and receiving the questioning stare she was giving him.

"Meaning…?" She scooted closer, her gaze starting to make him a little uncomfortable.

"I don't date! I mean… I do… but not relationship wise… I don't want a girlfriend. I told you like a thousand times, the only person that I would ever be with is _you_…" He grinned, knowing his answer would stop her little question parade.

Just as he thought she was quiet after that, sitting back in her seat and folding her arms. Their conversation after that was short and sweet, both retreating to their rooms shortly after. Neither sleeping very well, the wall in between them seeming ever so thin.

* * *

_Four days later…._

"Good morning daddy!!" Hailey said as her father entered the kitchen, staring at her and Talon as they set the table for breakfast.

"Alright… what's the deal?" He asked leaning his shoulder against the wall, eyeing them suspiciously.

"What ever do you mean?" Hailey asked, feigning innocence. Talon laughing loudly at her failed attempt.

"What we can't make breakfast for our parents that we love so, so much? I mean you guys are the greatest after all…. Both being like hella cool and everything…" Talon said as he placed the plate of eggs and plate of sausage on the table.

"What do you want?" Jacob asked seating himself at the head, looking over the fairly large meal they had cooked.

"Okay listen… I know that you guys are all worried about the other pack being around and everything… but we were thinking… since they haven't caused any trouble… and since Quil agreed to go with us… can we go to a bon fire some of the other kids around here are having tonight? Pleaseeeee daddy, please!!! I swear we will go strait there, stay with the others, never go off alone or talk to anyone we don't know and if for any reason we feel like something isn't right we will call you I promise!!"

Hailey pleaded their case, sitting in the seat beside him and holding his hand. Talon behind her with a very amused expression. Jacob thought it over for a minute, knowing they would still have to talk to Leah.

"Well, you will have to talk to your mother first. I guess it's alright with me as long as Quil is going… and if you don't keep your promise you wont go anywhere for the rest of the summer, you hear me?" He narrowed his eyes at her, fighting the smile that was forming watching the excitement bubble in the two of them.

When Leah entered they switched it up, Talon being better at working with Leah, Hailey better with Jacob. She looked around, seating herself at the other end and watching them with a seemingly annoyed expression.

"Have you already asked him?" Leah asked Hailey, surprising her a little. She nodded sheepishly, not sure how her mother knew.

"What do they want and what do you think?" She turned to Jacob, ignoring both children. Of course leaving them both a little confused seeing as most of the time when they are visiting she doesn't even acknowledge Jacob being in the room.

"They want to go to some bon fire tonight the other kids are having. Quil said he'd go with them I'm assuming because Clair is, and they agreed to stay put until it was over and call if they thought anything was wrong. I think it's okay… as long as Quil is going…" Hailey squeezed Jacob's hand excitedly when he was finished.

"Alright, you can go. But you have to call me **WHEN** you get there and **WHEN **you leave. I don't want any of that "I forgot" bullshit. Between the two of you there is absolutely no reason you should forget." Leah spoke firmly, looking between the two. Both nodding over dramatically and rushing to call Alex and take showers.

"So what are you going to do since they wont be home?" Leah asked in between mouthfuls of food, peeking to see his reaction…. Which was calm of course.

"I don't know… I'll probably just patrol. Maybe run by and check on them a few times between circuits. Why?" It was his turn to peek, finding her sudden curiosity over the past few days pretty interesting.

"Well, I guess I was just wondering…. I mean maybe we could do something… we don't have to talk about anything….. Nothing like that… just uh…. Just hang out….?… maybe?" She was poking at her food while she spoke, completely unsure of why she was asking him to hang out with her. Almost absolutely positive they would end up talking about something sensitive, or arguing. Whichever one.

"Sure. If that's what you want. What did you have in mind?" He continued eating, the conversation not seeming to effect him at all. Of course making her want to do the opposite and catch his attention. His nonchalance irking her.

"Uh.. I don't know watch some movies or something. We could just stay here… that would be fine…" She looked up accidentally making eye contact, really not expecting him to be looking.

"That would be great.." He said softly, smirking before returning to his food. She did the same, frequently looking back to him, unable to repress the smile that was forcing itself onto her face.

* * *

_That night…_

"Okay, we're leaving!" Talon yelled across the house, Hailey running to his side and waiting to say bye to her parents.

"Alright Talon, one o'clock… no later…" Jacob punched him lightly in the stomach as he passed, stressing the end of his statement.

"I know, I know…" Talon rolled his eyes, hugging Leah tightly and spinning her around.

"Do me a favor, keep those boys away from your sister, huh?" Jacob said while pulling out some chips and salsa, winking at Hailey.

"It'd help if she put some damn clothes on…" Talon said turning to Hailey and shoving her, disapproving of her white sundress.

"Whatever, it's not me you need to worry about. Alex is going as his date…" She folded her arms and smiled at him, knowing that would spark a few interests.

"Damn… good job…" Jacob laughed loudly, picking at the chips he was eating.

"You better be nice to her Talon, that's Jared's daughter and you know he wont be to happy if you treat her like you treat all these other girls…" Leah warned, pushing him to the door.

"Go have fun, just remember the rules, m'kay?" Jacob asked through a mouthful of food, earning a few "yeah, yeah's" and "Whatever's".

The two left quickly, going to meet Alex, Clair and Quil at Sue's.

Jacob turned to Leah, smiling brightly, still amused with her behavior.

"So, did you pick out any movies?" He asked, picking up the phone to order some pizzas.

"A couple, they are on the table. You can pick the first one…" She wasn't really sure how to act, since it really wasn't an official "date", her not being even remotely close to putting on a label. But then again it may not have had a name, but they both knew what it was.

She had found herself constantly being reminded of why she had fallen in love with him to begin with, leaving her almost helpless given their constant company and interactions. Being involved with the kids only made it worse seeing how much they enjoyed having the two together, not having to worry about fighting or arguing. During her stay it really started feeling right, the four of them being together and doing things as a family. Something she never thought she'd allow, now seemed like the one thing she had been missing all that time. They still had a lot of problems to work out, a lot of explaining and discussing, a lot of apologizing and forgiving. A lot of things both of them still had to get over, but she was happy. She was happy being home, happy being with him, happy that the kids were happy. And happy that she no longer felt so alone, so stressed and weighed down. Even being on good terms they still fought for dominance, just like they always had, neither giving an inch. She still wanted the last say, and he still wouldn't allow it. But neither would she, that's what made it so interesting. It still felt right, after all those years apart, after everything that happened, he still had her heart.

"How about this one?" He handed her the DVD and barked the order into the phone, Leah moving to the living room and putting the movie in.

Jacob entered and sat down on the couch, turning off the last remaining light. She sat down beside him, trying her best not to seem uncomfortable. The timid situation of where to sit, how to position herself, where to put her hands, what to say all coming into play. She honestly felt like she was back in high school, on a first date with someone she wasn't to sure about.

The movie started and they didn't say to much, Leah finally relaxing a little and getting into a comfortable position. About halfway through the movie the doorbell rang, Jacob sighing with relief thinking of how hungry he was.

He paid the pizza guy and took the food to the kitchen, returning with two plates and two glasses.

"I could have made my own you know?" She said as he handed it off to her and sat down.

"I know, I know. I never said you couldn't. I was just trying to be nice.." Jacob focused his attention on the TV, trying to keep the evening as friendly and carefree as possible.

"Thanks Jake…." She said softly, feeling a little guilty for reverting back to her usual evasiveness.

The night went on smoothly, both eventually unwinding and engaging in conversations consisting of loud laughter and old memories. Picking on each other for previous acts. They were on their third movie, both getting pretty tired, when Jacob pulled her down onto his chest. Instead of pulling away she caved and snuggled into him, hearing his heartbeat so clearly almost proving to much.

They were both almost asleep, Jacob still holding onto her tightly, when his phone sounded off revealing a text from Hailey.

_Hey daddy. _

_Quil is bringing me home a little early, I don't feel good. He's going to go back and get Talon Alex and Clair. They are all fine, still at the bon fire with everyone else. _

_We're walking so I'll see you in a few. _

_I love you. _

He shut his phone and noticed Leah sleeping soundly. He picked her up and carried her up the stairs, laying her down on the bed and covering her up. He rose to leave, only to be pulled back.

"Thank you…. For everything.." She sat up and spoke, being at eye level with him after he sat.

"There's no need to thank me for anything. I would do anything for you, you should know that by now.." He said in almost a whisper, their faces close to touching.

"I'm so sorry that I haven't tried to talk to you before now… I should have listened…I should have stayed… I know that them having a childhood was important but it wasn't worth keeping them away from you and their home. They would have traded everything to be with you… I was just being selfish. I was so mad… I couldn't get over it. And I think being away just made it worse, and I blamed you for everything when I knew it wasn't your fault… I am so sorry Jacob… I missed you so much…. And I've wanted to come home for so long… I jus---.."

It wasn't that he didn't appreciate her apology, or that everything that exited her mouth wasn't melting his heart… it was just that she was getting upset and he didn't want the night to end that way. So instead of allowing the conversation, he kissed her. He cut her off mid word with a very soft, very slow kiss. He ran his hand across her face and into her hair, brushing it lightly. Not letting the kiss exceed a few moments, he pulled away and kissed her forehead, smiling at her warmly.

"We'll talk about everything soon… lets just take it slow, huh?"

She nodded and he kissed her head one more time before saying goodnight and leaving the room. Returning downstairs to pick up their mess and turn everything off. When he finished he checked the clock, noticing it was well past one, and pulled out his phone.

"Talon, where are you?" He asked, Talon picking up on the first ring.

"Well.. Quil took Hailey home because she didn't feel good and said he'd come back to get us… which he hasn't. Everyone is starting to clear out here, do you want me to just come home?" Talon seemed calm enough, obviously not to worried about walking home alone.

However, given his son's nonchalance, he was more worried about his daughter who should have been home by then.

"Your sister isn't home… I'm going to find them. You and Alex take the main roads. Stay away from the woods, come strait here." He hung up and ran up the stairs.

"Leah I'm going to get Hailey, Talon and Alex are coming here. Don't freak out, just be looking for them. I'll be home soon.." He didn't give her time to respond, he left the house hurriedly knowing the veneer that was masking his worry was about to shatter into a million pieces.

When he phased nobody was there accept Seth who was on patrol on the other end of La Push. Jacob didn't have to say a word, only flashed him images and Seth immediately understood. Keeping a lookout on his end.

Jacob ran the circuits knowing that Quil would use them, sniffing and scanning every inch hastily until he finally caught their scent. He ran through the trees, branches and leaves smacking him in the face, not slowing him down the slightest bit. Their scent got stronger as he approached a clearing, stopping short to get a feel on what was happening. He smelled someone else instantly, peeking through the last remaining trees.

Quil was lying on the ground, still human, groaning and trying his best to move. Hailey stood a few feet away in front of a large wolf that was slowly inching to her. She ran to Quil, obviously making sure he was okay. Turning back to the wolf and standing in front of him. She told him to leave Quil alone, to do whatever he was going to do just to leave him be. Which of course, in the midst of a mental break, filled Jacob with a small sense of pride. He moved forward slowly not wanting to alert the enemy, but ended up doing it anyway. He lunged for Hailey who just as quickly phased and caught his blow just as she turned, both of them landing with a loud thud. The wolf apparently had no intentions of taking her, he was there to kill her, plain and simple. Jacob's head and body went into overdrive as he entered, his mission very clear, and the only thing on his mind.

***Right, so this one was pertty long. I had a lot to put in here because I have a lot to put in the next chapter. SO! Sorry for the cramming. Anyways, everything will be explained in the next chapter, a lot of other things also coming into play. This story will end up having a lot of plot twists and turns, so pay attention. (: Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!!! Oh yeah and a gigantic, humongous, gargantuan, appreciative and o so loving shout out to Felon12.… who was my knight in shining armor for both of my stories seeing as I was pretty much stuck. (: ****


	12. Questionable Motives

Of course the only thing Hailey could think about was the fact that she was about to die, there was no way, even being the daughter of the alpha and having the purest genes possible due to two full blooded parents, that she could win. He was so much bigger and stronger, so much more experienced and much more brutal. Hailey had to much respect for other people's, even wolves, lives to be able to toss them aside with no problem. Although, at the moment she was having absolutely no issue trying her best to tear him apart. The first initial blow had almost been enough to break her, the force and his body weight almost crushing her without the least bit of effort on his end. But, underneath the huge wolf, she was still fighting. Snapping and clawing at anything she could reach, which was mostly his chest and stomach. The pressure was pushing her into the ground, the dirt and rock beneath her giving way as he jammed her further down. His mouth frequently making contact with her neck and face, pulling and tearing with his seemingly giant teeth. She grew tired very quickly, her stamina and composure fading as he continued pushing and biting. Everything had happened so fast, she hadn't seen even the smallest sign that he was going to attack her… and what seemed to be as quickly as he had thrown himself on her, he was off. She could still hear the horrible growling and tearing sounds, but it wasn't her. She glanced over to Quil who was still on the ground, slowly healing and pulling himself up. She laid still for a moment, finally rolling over and finding the source of all the noise.

She had seen her father in wolf form a million times, his size never intimidating her like it did just then. To her, he was sweet and kind. Always calm and never losing his temper. They always told her that he wasn't always like that and that he was nothing to toy with, but she hadn't believed them until that moment. His appearance was completely different, his body was tense and large, the muscles in it clear and contracting. His fur completely upright, his face like something you would see out of a horror movie. The way they were attacking each other sort of reminded her of rabid animals, the constant lunging and ripping, never backing off or easing up. His eyes were screaming at her, telling a thousand stories without even looking at her. Quil got up and moved to her, nudging her to get up. He stripped and phased, turning to her immediately.

"_Let's go._" He motioned for her to follow him, stopping when she didn't.

"_Are you crazy?? I'm not leaving him here!!_" She was horror-struck with his suggestion, the thought of leaving her father there to deal with what she saw as a monster not sitting very well at all.

"_Hay, he wants us to go. I promise you he will be okay.._" Quil tried his best to reassure her, but she did come from the two most hard headed and stubborn people he had ever met.

"_What if more come? What will happen then, huh? He'll be here all alone… sorry, I'm staying.. We'll go home together.._" She turned back to where Jacob and who they later found out was Rex were still going at it with full force, Jacob gaining the upper hand and slinging the large wolf's frame across the clearing.

Rex quickly scrambled to his feet and faced the much larger and much angrier wolf standing before him, huffing and fuming from top to bottom. He was obviously contemplating what to do, attacking Jacob didn't seem to appealing but in a sense he wasn't allowed to run. In the end of course his fear got the better of him, Jacob taking a step forward being the last straw. He bolted into the woods, crossing the La Push borders and heading back to camp, knowing he had genuinely messed up.

"_Are you okay??_" Jacob turned to his daughter, anger and frustration turning to worry as he circled her trying to be sure she wasn't injured.

"_I'm fine, really, just a few scrapes. Are you okay?_" She smirked as much as she was able being a wolf, tilting her head and giving a goofy expression.

Jacob tried to be angry, he really did. The night's events enough to send him into a mindless state of fury, but couldn't with the medium sized puppy sitting in front of him. Wagging her tail and letting the appreciation and relief that he was okay flood him and Quil, instantly forcing them to calm down. Jacob sat for a moment, thinking of what would be the best move for them without putting anyone in danger. He decided to wait until he and Sam could discuss the matter, Sam being the beta and one of the only living beings that could keep Jacob's mind in the right places at the right times.

"_Let's get back to the house, your mom is probably going out of her mind…_" Jacob cringed at the thought of a worried Leah, her abrasive and aggressive nature making almost every emotion that exited her seem like anger. Though he knew the difference, it still didn't make the experience any more enjoyable.

Hailey laughed loudly at Jacob's thoughts, knowing all to well what her mother was like when she was upset or angry. Worry being an accumulation of them both. The three of them ran quickly to Jacob's home, stopping short when they realized they had no clothes. Jacob sighed and stepped forward, then began barking at the kitchen window. Quil couldn't control his laughter, the concept of barking like a dog being a little to humorous for the easily amused man. Leah appeared in the back door with her arms folded, still in her pajamas.

"As long as you all have been phasing and you STILL can't remember your clothes…." She harrumphed and turned on her heels quickly, gathering the three some clothes and throwing it to them.

Of course they were relieved at her seemingly calm attitude, but refused to get comfortable knowing that when they told her what happened she would take that expression "shit a brick" or more preferably "go ape shit" to a new level. They dressed themselves and marched in a line through the back door, Alex and Talon sleeping on the couch a little to comfortably.

Leah drug Hailey to the sink to look over the minor injuries she had sustained, a strange unsurprised expression keeping hold on her features.

"What happened?" She asked quietly, peeking every few seconds at Jacob and Quil who were seated at the kitchen table. Both with hard expressions, the blank glare they were giving the slab of wood a confirmation that their minds were elsewhere.

"Well Quil and I were just walking home and that Rex guy popped out of the trees and started talking to us. I mean he didn't seem upset or anything at first. He just asked a lot of questions like if Talon and I were moving here, and if you and dad were back together. Oh and he asked about Alex… but I didn't answer any of them… which is one of the reasons he got so pissed I think… Then he just attacked Quil, and turned on me shortly after…"

Hailey winced as Leah rubbed some disgusting disinfectant all over her quickly healing cuts, not satisfied with the pace they were keeping and wanting to be sure there was no possibility of infection. After they were finished, neither speaking again, they both joined the two large and still distant men at the table.

"So… what happens now?" Hailey asked her father who snapped back to reality at the sound of her voice, facing her and looking over her before answering.

"Well, obviously the peace treaty we agreed to the other day is shit…. Nashoba wasn't here to take care of "business below La Push"… he's just pulling his pathetic sneaky tricks again… not really a surprise---"

"Attacking an alpha's child… more importantly his daughter…. Is a pretty low blow… even for Nashoba and his disgusting parasites. I have to say I didn't see that coming…" Quil interrupted, an almost shocked expression washing over him as he spoke.

"What is that like some kind of law? No attacking other pack's kids?" Hailey questioned, the same question her mother was going to ask, she just beat her to it.

"No… not really a _law_ per se… just a silent understanding. Everybody knows that children are the weak spot, wives and families, they are all off limits during a time of war. At least with us… vampires and such… don't really care. Daughters are a little different, sort of like rare gems. Our pack is the only one known to have female shape shifters, so we all figure it's in the gene somewhere in our families. Alex counts for us because she's Jared's…. everyone just thinks she is Tyrone's daughter… we left it that way to avoid anymore conflict. The point is that they obviously are after something… or planning something if they would go so far as to attack not only an alpha's child, but daughter at that. Really the only time that happens is if someone is trying to take out an entire bloodline, an entire pack from the inside out…"

Jacob's explanation sent shivers through the small group. His words were low and sharp, his eyes returning to that far away place not long after he started speaking. He continued as if in a daze, when he finished he seemed almost absent. Not acknowledging the fact that the other three were still there, lost in his own thoughts.

"So… what are we going to do?" Leah spoke loudly, knowing that Jacob wouldn't hear her if she didn't speak up.

"I'll go talk to them in the morning. Quil, gather the others and have them on alert. I want everyone patrolling, including pups, and at least two on every family member's house. Tell Sam to get some sleep, he's going with me tomorrow…" Quil stood immediately after hearing Jacob's orders, waving goodbye and rushing out the door.

"Are we going with you?" Hailey smiled at her dad, knowing his answer, but asking all the same.

"You're just hilarious.. Are you sure you're alright?" Jacob grinned at her, the fairly nonexistent effect the attack was having on her amused him to no end.

"Yes dad! Geez… how many times are you going to ask?" She smirked and rose from the table, saying her goodnights quickly and retreating to her room to get some much needed rest.

Leah and Jacob sat in silence for some time, Jacob once again deep in his own thoughts. He was trying desperately to figure out their motives. Why they would go that far when nothing bad had happened between the two packs in a very long time, the last confrontation being a very understandable and fairly self defensive action. He wracked every inch of his brain until he could settle on only one reason, in the beginning it seemed to simple. But after throwing every other option out the door it seemed like the most logical explanation. He stared at the smooth marble colored wood that was his kitchen table, going over ever sequence and scenario that he might run into. Anything that could happen winded through his brain, leaving no twist or turn unnoticed. He liked to think that anyway.

"Jacob!!!" Leah snapped in front of his face, the annoyance and worry growing with every second he didn't respond.

"What?" He barked almost to loudly, the thunder his voice created shocking her a little.

"Ugh! I'm going to bed! Jesus… I just wanted to say goodnight!" She stated with frustration, folding her arms and sitting back against the chair.

"I'm sorry, uh, goodnight.." He said awkwardly while standing and moving towards the stairs. Leah followed close behind him, unsure of his very un Jacob like attitude.

"Are you alright?" She placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him around to face her.

"I'm fine, just tired. I've got a long day… I need to get some sleep.." He said dismissively, turning back to the stairs and starting up them.

"Can I go with you?" She had never been so insecure with a question, not sure how things worked with the pack anymore. All of it seeming so formal and business like.

He shook his head as he reached the top of the staircase, turning to her quickly with an irritated look about him.

"First, you need to be here with the kids. Second, why would you want to? You haven't been involved with anything to do with the pack in how many years now? Sam and I can handle it, don't worry about us, just make sure Talon and Hailey stay out of trouble…" His tone and attitude towards her were much different then they had been earlier that night, he seemed almost angry with her. Like he didn't want her there and was annoyed that she was.

"Uh… I wanted to go with you just so you would have an extra hand… why the sudden hostility?" She could feel the tension they had gotten rid of resurfacing, emotions from the night's events and apparently the thoughts he was allowing himself to have were running high.

He stopped at his door and placed his forehead against the frame, sighing heavily and allowing a very tired and very defeated expression to wash over him. His usual happy go lucky façade shattering.

"I don't know…. I'm sorry. Just go to bed, I'll talk to you in the morning. I don't care if you go.."

She approached him slowly and leaned into his back, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on him softly. He turned to her and hugged her head to his chest before leading her into his bedroom, both of them flopping onto the bed and cuddling into a giant mass of limbs. She could tell he was still frustrated, maybe not at her but in general. Not that she blamed him. He had stated a very long time ago that he was sick of fighting, he was sick of all the problems between packs and the constant battle over dominance. So he folded. He told the surrounding alphas that he didn't care who ruled what and that he was having no part in the fight, they could do whatever they pleased with each other but were to leave La Push out of it. Of course the others agreed, Jacob's pack being the strongest and most coordinated, young boys shifting quite frequently. And Jacob's experience plus his natural genes gave them a very large upper hand.

She rubbed his head gently, letting her fingers roam from the back of his neck to his hair, from his hair to his face where she outlined it softly. He closed his eyes and seemed to relax a little, his shoulders loosening and his muscles giving way the slightest bit. She smiled as she continued to calm him down, his body eventually giving out completely and resting on her. She was going to attempt to keep his mind off of everything until morning, allow him to get a good night's rest and chill out for a little bit. However, a very loud and very familiar howl broke through the window and pierced their ears. Letting them know that there would be no sleep any time soon.

Jacob's eyes popped open and he sat up violently, rushing to the window and throwing it open. Leah jumped and followed, her brother's howl keeping Jacob from protesting.

* * *

**a/n. Sorry for the delay, I've been a little blah ish… but I'll get back to updating daily during the next few days after I catch up of course. This one was a little short, a little simple. Just to clear up what happened with Hailey and explain a few things. The next one will start in on Talon's little issue. You wont be waiting as long this time I promise. Working on chapter 13 of I Run to You so that should be up sometime tomorrow. Thanks for reading! Reviews are always wonderful. (:**


	13. Introducing Crazy

"_I'll take care of him Leah you don't have to come.._" Jacob's voice entered her thoughts, and though the statement he made was unfavorable, she couldn't help but love the feeling.

"_Uh, he's MY little brother, I'm coming!!" _She yelled at him, both running at full speed side by side. Jacob kept trying to see what happened, but was getting nothing from Seth nor anyone else. Most of the pack seemingly as clueless as him.

"_I don't think anything actually happened, before he howled and phased out I believe I saw Alex's mom…_" Embry joined them on the circuit they were using, relaxing them a bit after sharing the images.

The three spotted Seth standing with Alex's mother, a very frantic expression on her once pretty face. The time and conditions obviously taking their toll on the woman.

"Ana, nice to see you. What brings you all the way to La Push…. In the middle of the woods…. This late at night?" Jacob smirked as he spoke, knowing she would have an interesting explanation, his night becoming more and more complicated by the second. He pulled on his shorts as he walked to her.

Ana turned to him and hugged him tightly, sobbing into his chest while she tried to speak.

"Jacob… I need your help. Tyrone returned home early, and of course noticed Alex's absence immediately…. I told him she was staying with friends for a few weeks but he didn't believe me… I don't know what to do… he's growing suspicious and I've just about exhausted all of my excuses…." She explained hurriedly, fear seeming to grip her whole body.

"Calm down, just tell him that I wanted her for a few weeks… tell him my kids are here for the summer and I wanted them to have some friends their age to hang out with and I thought since she was a shape shifter they would have a lot in common… more to relate with… something like that.. You get my drift.." Jacob rubbed her back as he spoke, her sobs still coming frequently, her tears soaking his bare chest.

Ana stopped crying after a few moments but didn't move, only hugged him tighter. Leah couldn't help but notice his uncomfortable stature, he tried to move her away from him to no avail of course. The woman's grip only tightened.

"Alright Ana I'm always the first one to offer help and you know that, but other then what I just told you I cant do much. We have other problems we have to deal with involving Nashoba….. You're just going to have to try and convince him.." Jacob once again pulled himself away from her using a little more force and managed to pry her from his torso, stepping back to take in her face.

"Oh Jacob, cant Alex and I come live in La Push? Please…. It's horrible in my village…..--"

Jacob cut her off mid sentence, becoming very annoyed very quickly with her obvious underlying intentions.

"We have been through this a thousand times and the answer is still NO! Alex could if she wanted to because her father lives here, but you would cause WAY to much trouble between Kim and Jared… or anyone else you decided to throw yourself on. Most of my pack members have wives or girlfriends, I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate your presence…" Jacob said condescendingly, folding his arms and glaring at her while posting himself against a tree.

Ana stalked over to him, and starting at his hips moved her hands up his body with attempted seduction, a huge failure of course. Seth rolled his eyes and threw his hands in the air, Embry's reaction close to Seth's only a little louder.

"For crying out loud are you REALLY going to do this now?? We have things to do we cant spend our time dealing with you crazy ass sluts.." Embry yelled at Ana, the strange woman only shot him a bird and continued her attempt at seducing the alpha she wanted so badly to take her in. Jacob held his hand out, keeping her a safe distance away and sighed heavily.

"Ana! Stop now your being ridiculous…" Jacob walked towards the others, the woman grabbing his hand and attempting to pull him back to her. His body weight proving to much for her small arms and nonexistent strength.

Leah watched with annoyance, unsure of why it bothered her so much, but at the same time really not caring. She just knew she didn't like it, at all.

"You're not married Jake, and you don't have a girlfriend…. Our kids get along… I'm sure we could work something out!!" Ana smiled widely, taking in Jacob's revolted expression.

"If you must know he DOES have a girlfriend that just so happens to be the mother of his children…. And I'm standing right here!!" Leah yelled at the small woman, earning small chuckles from Embry and Seth, not having the same relaxed reaction from Ana who then seemed quite angry. She turned to Leah with a hard scowl, glaring at her unsuccessfully. Her frustrations not bothering Leah the slightest bit.

"Well.. I just wanted to let you know that Tyrone is getting antsy…. Call me when you're ready to settle down…" Ana winked at him before turning and heading back to her home, trying to glare at Leah one more time before disappearing.

Leah huffed and phased, of course not wanting to be around for the discussion that would bring up her little outburst. Knowing that Jacob would be highly amused and would dangle it in her face, no doubt.

"_You don't think Alex is hooking up with Talon do you?_" Embry asked randomly, startling her a bit with is presence.

"_Why the hell would you ask that?_" Leah stopped and waited for him, continuing to run towards home when he reached her.

"_Well… I was just thinking… Tyrone thinks that she's his daughter. And in their village the "chief's" daughter is off limits until he picks a husband for her. Now him finding out that she's not his would be bad enough….. Finding out that she's been fucking another alpha's son…. From another pack or tribe…. That would be horrible. He'd go ape shit…._" Embry finished and was deep in thought, images of Tyrone's pack flashing from his mind to hers, the large quantity and size of the group a little intimidating. Though Jacob's was larger and much more experienced, the risk of a loss was much greater fighting Nashoba or Tyrone's packs. A beef with both pretty much sealing the deal.

"_I don't think so… I mean I cant be sure but… damn… I am talking about Talon. I guess I could get Hailey to find out… shit I hope not…._" Leah followed Embry's thoughts carefully while speaking, watching as he replayed some of the discussions and conversations between Tyrone and Jacob, then the two with Nashoba. The three of them being pretty hostile towards each other, neither Nashoba nor Tyrone being invited to join their reunion cookout or whatever you wanted to call it.

Embry completely forgot about Leah being there as he went over pack interactions between the three, fights between Paul and others, even Jared and a few. Sam seeming to always keep his cool and Jacob only intervening when he became uncomfortable with numbers or odds. His thoughts traveled to the women of Tyrone's pack, just like Ana, who had all spent their time trying to seduce and manipulate Jacob's pack members into taking them home to La Push. She watched as his thoughts switched to what Leah could only guess was the fight between Jacob and the two wolves from Nashoba's pack that he killed, getting random out of sequence images of them tearing at each other and finally the two lying dead. His thoughts suddenly flashed nothing but the present, showing only what was in front of him.

"_So… Jared was the only one who--_"

"_Jacob didn't sleep with anyone while you two were still together… yes Jared was the only one_" Embry interrupted her question, amused with her sudden interest and jealousy involving Jacob. Though she would never admit that she was, it was plain as day for him to see.

"_Who did you leave the kids with?_" Embry asked after a moment of silence, her lack of response only confirming his suspicions.

"_Jared and Sam were patrolling around Jake's house and Sam's…_" She answered shortly, her thoughts roaming all over the place. When she felt Jacob and Seth phase in she shut down, masking any and all of her thoughts.

"_Well, she was right… he's getting pissy…_" Seth stated with frustration.

"_You guys went and checked it out?_" Embry asked, a little surprised that they went alone.

"_Yeah, we just went to the edge and took a peek. Tyrone is pacing around the camp yelling and screaming at anyone and anything. He's beyond pissed off…. I didn't see Ana, she must not have made it back yet. We're a ways behind you so go ahead back to the house and check on the kids. We'll meet you there shortly._" Jacob said calmly, the exhaustion that was wearing on him obvious in his voice.

* * *

_At the house…._

Talon blinked his eyes open slowly, his body aching from the awkward position he was in. He looked down, a sea of black and brown was sprawled across his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair, pushing it away from her face, her sleeping features being the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Hailey sat across from them, an accusing expression present.

"What?" He whispered, feeling her eyes boring into him when he tried to turn away.

"You know what Talon…. She's not just some girl… everyone here is like family to her, you can't just toy with her and drop her like you do the rest of them. It will cause a lot of problems and you know it… just let it be…" Hailey tried to reason with him, knowing how her brother worked and what his usual intentions were.

"It's to late… plus it's not like all the other times. I really like her… a lot. I'm not toying with her I swear. Why would I lie? I always tell you the truth…" He defended himself, looking back to her with honest eyes. Her expression changing from accusing to pleading.

"Okay and what happens when you get sick of her? When you get tired of being "tied down" and decide to toss her aside and move on to the next?"

"Hailey, listen… I swear to you… this is different… I know it is. Stop giving me shit about it and just trust me, I'm your brother, you know I wouldn't lie to you." He shifted beneath the still sleeping girl, his gentleness further convincing his sister.

"I'm just warning you T, I don't want to see you or her hurt. Just be careful." Hailey settled herself into the loveseat, rolling to face the cushions and closing her eyes.

The two of them joined Alex, falling asleep quickly and not waking when Leah and Embry entered the house.

"Well isn't that sweet, they're sleeping like babies.." Embry feigned a giggle, putting his hands to his face.

Leah laughed quietly, neither wanting to wake the three.

"You staying tonight?" She grabbed a drink from the refrigerator and seated herself at the table.

"Nah, I'll be heading out when Jake gets back. I'll probably run patrols with the others for the night, give him a chance to get some sleep. He has to go find Nashoba tomorrow…" Embry searched the cabinets for something to eat, finally settling on a bag of chips.

"I know, I'm going with him."

"He's okay with that?" He joined her at the table, surprise etching his features.

"Probably not… but it's not like he has a choice…" She smirked, her words as honest as they come.

Embry laughed, seeing bits and pieces of the Leah he knew and had once loved so very much, and in ways still did, resurfacing slowly the longer she stayed.

When Jacob finally entered Embry said his goodbyes and left, Jacob seated himself at the table with Leah.

"You sure you want to go tomorrow?"

"Duh." They shared a small moment, both smiling, before he got up to go to bed.

He had already changed and got in bed when he finally noticed that Leah was in the doorway, shifting uncomfortably. He propped himself on his elbows and cocked an eyebrow..

"What's the matter?"

Instead of answering him she entered, moving to his bed and crawling in beside him under the sheets. She laid her head on the pillow beside his, looking to him as she got comfortable. He sighed and joined her, placing his face only inches from hers. They stared for a moment, both unsure of how to act. But in the end Jacob just ignored the awkward feeling and wrapped his arm securely around her, closing his eyes and drifting into a comfortable sleep.

* * *

**a/n. Hope you enjoyed it, I had to introduce Alex's mother and their pack at some point so I figured why not get most of the introducing out of the way before anything starts to really play out. The next chapter should be a little more eventful, like I've said just hang tight. I had a lot to set up and it's taking a few chapters to do so. (: Thanks to everyone who's reading!! Reviews are always welcome. **


	14. Let's Start Over

Waking up with Leah in the bed was almost like a dream to him, one that he had so many times while he was away, and when she decided to stay in Bay City. He had been awake for almost thirty minutes but couldn't take his eyes off of her, everything about her the exact same as he remembered it. Memories of moments almost just like that one coming to him, reminding him of everything they had before he left. He absentmindedly ran his fingers down her cheek, then followed her jaw line to her neck, grazing that spot behind her ear that he knew would wake her up. She smiled, just like he knew she would.

"Good morning beautiful, you hungry?" His line, the same as it was all those years ago. Almost every morning, no matter where they were. The same words.

She rolled to him and rested her head on his chest. He started to wonder if he actually was in a dream, it was to familiar, to real.

"What are you going to cook me?" Her line, right on target.

"How about grilled cheese and eggs?" The strangest and most revolting combination in the morning, but it was her favorite.

"And grape juice?"

"Of course, as if I would forget!" She laughed as they played out their morning with precision, getting every word right.

He kissed her head, a tinge of sadness washing over him. Sure it was a cute display, and sure she found it amusing, but for him it was much different. For him it was like déjà vu, years filled with mornings just like that one, only they weren't real. He always woke up and found himself alone. His bed empty, his house empty, his life empty. But when he looked down at her and caught her gaze, everything over the past seventeen years disappeared and he was right back where he started. Lost in her eyes.

"I really did miss you… I hope you know that…" Leah said out of the blue, her face completely serious, her voice showing no signs of dishonesty.

He didn't know what to say. The past few weeks had been so strange to him. His ex and kids all living with him, Leah slowly but surely trying to mend things between them. It was everything he had ever wanted, and it all just happened so randomly. He couldn't help but feel like something was going to happen. He wasn't allowed to be happy, that he had learned the hard way. Anything good in his life was taken away, it was a fact he had grown accustomed to. His life without them was so different. He was hard and emotionless ninety nine percent of the time, only socializing when he had to and spending most of his time working or patrolling. Keeping an eye on neighboring packs and trying to keep the peace with them. It was difficult for him to revert back to being a family person, to hold that façade he put on when the kids visited in place for so long. Of course he was angry, his life was nothing like he had hoped it would be. The war and events afterwards making him nothing short of bitter. He just didn't want them to see it, he didn't want them to know how much he hurt.

"I missed you too, but why now? Why did you all of the sudden change your mind?" He couldn't help but ask. God knows he wanted to just keep his mouth shut and take what he could get, but how un-Jacob-like would that be?

"You know, I've asked myself that a million times… and the only thing that I can come up with is this; I always blamed you for me being unhappy after you left. I always just pushed anything and everything that was bothering me off on you because you weren't there and it was easy… but over the past few years I just… I couldn't find a way to make it your fault anymore. You were home, you had your own business and were doing well, you saw the kids every chance you got, you offered us money and help all the time… I had no way of making you the bad guy. Then I came home and I tried being nice because I was tired of fighting.. And we were getting along so well… then I thought back on all the time I spent thinking about you and wishing that you were with me…. It just didn't make any sense anymore. I thought I would never regret leaving, that I would know that I made the right decision… but…. I'm not so sure anymore. Because sure the kids were okay, but they were never happy…. And neither was I…"

She sat up on her forearms, staring down at her fingers. Unsure of where their conversation was headed.

"Leah… you did what you thought was best for the kids. They got to do a thousand things that we didn't, they had a childhood. A good one. That was the point. That was the reason you left. I understand that. I've always understood that. I'm not angry with you, I mean of course I'm a little pissed with how things turned out for me and most of our family, but none of that is directed towards you. So lets just stop… I'm done fighting with you and us being angry with each other. Lets start over…"

So it was said, he didn't want to talk about previous events. He no longer wanted to dwell on the hardships that tore them apart. He wanted a new beginning, a second chance at being happy with the only woman that was ever able to make him so. She nodded and pressed her forehead against his.

"Okay, so how do we do this?" She whispered, a little overwhelmed with what was happening.

"However you want…" He kissed her cheek, pulling her body a little closer.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and let him pull her to him, her head in the crook of his neck.

"Do you still love me as much as you did before?" She said almost laughing, questions like that one always getting on his nerves.

He pulled back and forced eye contact, her smile almost causing him to burst into laughter on site.

"Yes Leah I still love you, just as much, if not more than I did before…" He rolled his eyes, pressing his lips securely to hers and moving so that he was on top of her.

"And I would love to lay here in bed with you all day, but my stomach would eat me from the inside out. Plus I have things to do today, remember?" He grinned, his nonchalance with the matter sure to piss her off.

"No shit… I'm going with you, remember?" She threw a grin back, crushing his hopes that she had forgotten.

When he didn't respond she pushed him off and stood, stretching all of the still sleeping muscles in her body. She turned back to Jacob, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, and placed herself directly in front of him, pulling his face up.

"I love you Jacob.." She said very calmly and very sweetly, adding a gentle smile.

He sighed and stood up, towering over her and wrapping his arms around her waist. He hugged her for a fairly long moment, kissing her neck tenderly.

"I love you too… now lets go eat.." He kissed her one more time and grabbed her hand, leading her downstairs.

It was when he entered the kitchen that he really remembered what had happened the night before. The shock of waking up to his ex in the bed with him pushing all thoughts from his mind and causing a slight lapse in priority. To him anyway. He stopped, turning to her and giving her one of her least favorite looks.

"We both agreed that I'm going with you Jacob, don't even try to get out of it!!" She shouted at him, almost able to hear his words before he spoke them.

"Leah, I have to go right now… like RIGHT now. You need to get the kids up and get them fed, send them to Sue's and help Jared and the others keep an eye out around La Push while Sam and I are gone. I know we agreed but do you really want to leave these three alone?" He pointed to the living room where the three teenagers were still sleeping soundly.

Leah sighed and scowled at him, knowing he had won. She rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders, turning to face away from him.

"Oh come on…. Its not like I'm asking you to sit around like the imprints or anything…" He almost laughed, snaking his hands around her upper torso and kissing the back of her neck.

"That's not going to work…." She hid her smile, thinking of the thousands of times that it had.

"Come on…. don't be mad at me…" He, of course, wanted to test the theory.

He continued to trail kisses along the back of her neck, tracing lines along her stomach and pressing his chest to her back. It really amazed him how comfortable he was with her seeing as at first it was "take it slow", then as soon as "lets start over" was thrown into the mix it was like nothing had ever happened. She was still Leah and he was still Jacob. Both feeling as relaxed and nonchalant as they had before.

It only took a few seconds, that was all it ever took, for her to turn around and punch him in the chest, a huge smile on her face.

"Whatever, get out of here.." She pushed him away from her and moved to the refrigerator pulling out cheese and eggs, he stared.

"What? You made me want grilled cheese and eggs…"

They both laughed, Sam entering a few seconds later.

"Hey Leah.. Jake, you ready to go?" Sam stayed close to the door, knowing they wouldn't be there long.

"Yep, I'll be back later. We'll you'll be phased so we will let you know.." He winked at her and exited the house, closing the door lightly behind him.

Leah had done fairly well hiding her giddiness about the situation, but when he was gone she really had no reason. She let the record worthy smile stayed planted on her face as she made a very large and well prepared breakfast, making extras knowing someone would most likely come by.

* * *

"_What the fuck is going on?_" Sam asked as they ran, the many different scents they were getting worrying the two.

"_I don't know, but I plan to find out… right now_" Jacob shifted his direction, catching Nashoba's scent and racing towards it.

He found himself a little outside of La Push, on Tyrone's land of all places. A very dangerous place for a La Push wolf to be. Jacob and Sam snuck their way around the patrolling circuits they knew would be guarded, finding Nashoba under a large tree in the middle of nowhere. Jacob phased and approached him, nakedness being no concern to any of them.

"I take it you were expecting me?" Jacob said as calmly as possible, the events of the night before playing in his head and fueling his ever growing frustration.

"Well, I suppose. You took longer than expected so I can't say I was completely ready…." Nashoba grinned, standing and extending a hand to Jacob.

"You're really going to offer your hand to me after what Rex did?" Sam appeared behind Jacob, obviously readying himself to break up whatever explosion Jacob was going to cause.

"As you said, it was Rex, not I. You know how hot headed he is, I --"

"Do I look like a fucking idiot!? We have worked together Nashoba so please don't take me for a fool, I know you and I know how your pack works. You sent him to kill **MY **daughter and because he was to weak to do so you all have to reap the consequences. How do you want to do this, huh?" Jacob stepped forward, his temper beginning to get the best of him and forcing unfavorable words from his mouth.

"Jacob, think…" Sam stated quietly, moving closer as Jacob did.

" I don't want to fight Jacob, really. My people are upset with you, the pack is upset with you. They feel that you are undeserving of the utopia we know as La Push, you did kill their brothers after all.." Nashoba said calmly, amused with Jacob's quickly dissolving temper.

"If I would have let them live they would have killed someone! They were trying to eat the humans! What the fuck was I supposed to do? Let them? They were turning into monsters, no better than the ones we were fighting…"

"They were starving, what would you have them do? Die of hunger?" It was Nashoba's turn to start losing his temper, the fowl talk of his fallen brothers always proving to much for him.

"We were all starving… that makes it okay to eat PEOPLE!? We were all at breaking point, yet we managed to control ourselves… hell they didn't even look appetizing, that's no excuse. They just lost their fucking minds." Jacob said coldly, his calm veneer completely gone.

"Well Jacob, this has been pleasant. Now you know why they want you all dead, they want your home. Sorry, I guess we are being honest now right? WE want your home, and we will have it. WE want you dead for your crimes, and you will die soon enough…" Nashoba got up to leave, the sound of footsteps driving him away.

Jacob closed his eyes, knowing that Tyrone's men wouldn't be happy with outside presence on their land. He turned to face them, holding his hands up in surrender.

"We were looking for an enemy that passed to your territory, I know we should have asked permission but it was imperative that I found him…" Jacob explained, the two nodding and motioning for them to follow.

"Sam, go back to La Push, have everyone on guard…" Jacob whispered to Sam who had crept to his side.

"I'm not leaving you!" Sam was shocked at the suggestion, but the glare he received threatened a command, so he obeyed. He phased and ran home, leaving Jacob to be taken to Tyrone alone.

* * *

**a/n. Okay, Leah/Jacob relationship status, check. Nashoba's intentions, check. Jacob in trouble? Double check. (: We'll see how it goes with Tyrone next chap. Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are amazing, please keep it up! Thanks so much to everyone! I Run to You will be up by tomorrow and Heartbreak Warfare will most likely be up too. This one probably by late tomorrow night. (: **


	15. Alpha Female

Jacob entered the small village with the two members of Tyrone's pack close beside him. As he walked through everyone stared, giving him eat shit looks before returning to whatever they were doing. He allowed his mind to go blank, knowing that Tyrone would use his family against him now that it was known they were back. If he showed no emotion there would be no argument, with no argument, no fight. With no fight, no war. They approached the head house, the largest and most modern home in the village. The rest of them living like true natives with only the basics. Tyrone's people all being content with the old times, none to fond of contemporary things. The two pack members stopped at the door, motioning for him to enter.

"Jacob! What a pleasant surprise! It's so good to see you, how have you been?" Tyrone seemed friendly enough, the last time they met not so similar.

"I've been fair, just having some problems with Nashoba and his. Nothing I can't handle though… you?" Jacob shook the large man's hand, returning the pleasant attitude.

"Ah, Nashoba was always the trouble maker. I heard that they wanted to take over La Push, I'm sure you know that by now?" Tyrone seated himself behind the large desk that sat in the middle of the room, reminding Jacob of an office of some sort.

"Yes, that's why I'm here. My beta and I followed his scent here, your subordinates brought me just to be safe I'm sure.." Jacob stayed friendly, hoping to get out of there with no hard feelings if possible.

"I understand completely, no worries. Please, don't let me keep you from your family. I heard they were in town, you should return to them while they are visiting." He was digging, trying to learn what he could.

"Yeah their time here always seems to short, thank you." Jacob got up to leave, but quickly found out he wasn't getting out so easily.

"Actually Jacob, I have something I need to address before you leave…. I just remembered…" Jacob turned back to face him, noticing the change in facial expression.

"Sure, go ahead.."

"Alex, my daughter. My wife tells me that you requested her presence to befriend your children during their time here… is that true?" Tyrone asked cautiously, watching Jacob's reaction very carefully.

"Yes, I thought since they were all young shape shifters they would enjoy each others company. I have a daughter her age. My son usually hangs out with one of my pack member's son, Danny, who is pretty close to their age so Hailey frequently gets left out. They have been getting along great, I hope it's not a burden…" Jacob tried his best to stay formal, though the deeper in subject they got, the harder it became.

"It makes perfect sense, we should have thought of it sooner. Now… you and I have always been on agreeable terms. We help one another and always return favors, correct?" Tyrone's true intentions were inching closer to the surface.

"That's how we've done it in the past… why? What do you need?" Jacob returned to his seat, praying to God it had nothing to do with his family.

"Well, you borrowed my daughter… I was wondering if I could borrow yours?" And it begins…

"For what exactly?" Jacob cocked his eyebrow, his voice becoming much deeper with the direction change.

"Now, don't take me for a savage, I'm just being smart. You're pack seems to be the only one with the genes to pass on that produces the female shape shifters. Taking into consideration that my daughter is one and obviously possesses the gene, she cannot breed until she chooses a husband, which she refuses to do. If you were to allow me to use your daughter to have a few babies, hopefully passing the gene, I would be so appreciative. Actually, if you don't want to use your daughter, your ex will do fine…her genes are sure to be stronger… well… no… it would be your daughter… she's full blooded."

Jacob stared, dumbfounded, at the man that was obviously being dead serious. He took a deep breath and stood.

"I'm going to ignore that request, because you have lost your mind if you think I would ever agree to that.." Jacob turned for the door, reaching it before Tyrone spoke again.

"Now can you really afford to acquire another enemy?" Tyrone said confidently, using the Nashoba situation against him.

"Please don't think that you're going to threaten me into your "agreement". That's not an agreement, that's asking me to give my daughter or _current_ girlfriend to you to be used for breeding purposes. Which is completely ridiculous. The answer is no. And before you think about starting shit, please consider the fact that I wont think twice about killing every boy you send over those borders. Sons, fathers, uncles, cousins, brothers…. I don't give a shit. My family is first to me, and I will do whatever is necessary to assure their safety. If that means killing every single able bodied shape shifter in this village and completely wiping out your bloodline, so be it. Don't test me Tyrone, this isn't something you want to start with me. You know you wont win.."

Tyrone stood, his eyes wide with fury. He moved around the desk to stand in front of Jacob who's frame was shaking just as violently as his.

"Let's see if we can change your mind.." He snapped his fingers and the two men outside entered, grabbing Jacob's shoulders and leading him into another room.

Tyrone, the two that brought him and four others entered. They pushed Jacob so that he was seated on the floor, Tyrone knelt in front of him.

"It's a shame things have to be this way, you've been such a good ally. However, the fact that you can come in here and carry on casual conversations with me all the while knowing that the daughter I speak so highly of isn't mine. But in fact, is one of your own pack members. I have raised her from birth, only to learn that my wife was unfaithful and the child I've loved and bled for is another mans. I've taken care of Ana, now you can take the fall for your brother's treacherous ways. Sad that he's not present, though I doubt you would let him take the wrap." Tyrone stayed eye level, a blank look on his face as he spoke.

"Like I said, family is first to me. I'll gladly take the fall for him." Jacob retorted, smiling brightly.

"Would he do it for you?"

"I wouldn't ask it." Jacob leaned away from Tyrone who's face was much to close for comfort.

"She's still my daughter, and if I find out that your boy, or anyone else's has touched her. I'll kill them." Tyrone stood and walked to the door, glancing back and smirking before closing it. Leaving Jacob in the small room with the six large men.

* * *

"Shouldn't he be back by now?" Embry asked Sam quietly, the entire pack along with the imprints and other close family all gathered at Jacob's house. Waiting patiently for him to return.

"Something is wrong.." Sam said simply, staring out of the kitchen window.

At about the same time Leah walked in, obvious frustration present.

"Okay, I'm going after him… you can come or stay, I don't really care… but I'm leaving." She walked to the door, Sam grabbing her arm before she reached it.

"Leah he wants us here, I'm not going to disobey his direct order.." Sam said very subordinate like, almost seeming afraid to do so.

"Since when did you become such a pussy?" She shot at him, annoyed with everyone's complete nonchalance with the situation.

"Since Jacob made it very clear that he is the alpha and he makes the rules. I'm staying here." Sam said firmly, stepping back to his place in front of the window.

"Well, like I said, I'm going. I don't care if you come.." Leah left the house, her children and other family members under the impression that she was going to the store.

When she reached the wood line she noticed the footsteps behind her, turning to find Embry, Seth, Paul and Quil.

"You guys sure you want to "disobey"?" She asked sarcastically, folding her arms across her chest.

"Technically, from what I'm getting… you're alpha female again… which means you can override his decisions if he's not here or is in danger… therefore we follow you…" Embry said smugly, a large smile present.

"Good, cause I have no idea how to get there…" She smiled sheepishly, moving so Embry could take the lead.

They all phased and headed in the direction of Tyrone's village, not to sure what the plan was or how they were going to get him out of there if he in fact was there at all. When they reached the borders Embry stopped, turning back to Leah.

"_You sure you want to do this? He's going to be insanely pissed off at all of us…_" He warned, earning a confident nod from her.

Which of course was enough for them, they took off across the border and bounded recklessly through the forest until they reached the edge of the village.

"_What now?_" Seth asked, everyone looking around for any signs of him.

"_There's the alpha's house, how do you want to do this?_" Embry looked to their newest member, technically one of the oldest, but new to the game all the same.

"_Okay, I'll go in, you guys stay outside and keep watch. If anything seems off howl. I'll try to talk to him but if that doesn't work we'll just sniff him out and take him.._" Leah seemed confident enough, though she was quite out of practice.

"_Okay Ms. Aggressive Pants…_" Paul said almost laughing, her plan being much more blunt than they were used to.

Jacob and Sam always came up with some sort of strategic sneak attack to avoid anyone getting injured or killed. In any other scenario she might have taken more time, but the fact that they had the boyfriend she just got back, and the alpha that pretty much ran their community made things a little more sticky.

"_I don't know Leah, he's already gonna be mad… if he finds out we let you go in by yourself---"_

"_You guys cant stop me from doing anything, he knows that. You're not letting me, I'm just doing it._" She smirked at her brother who's worry was quite apparent.

"_Alright, lets go.._" Leah phased and threw on the clothes she brought, following her three counterparts to the steps of the large house where they turned and began keeping watch.

Leah marched quickly up the steps, barging in the doors without so much as a knock. She saw a large man at a desk, writing something before he looked up to her.

"Ah, who might you be? And to what do I owe the pleasure?" Tyrone stood and extended his hand, she refused.

"My alpha came here today after tracking our enemy onto your land, he hasn't returned and I've come to take him home…" She spoke loudly, showing no signs of fear.

His face fell into a state of understanding, a small smirk appearing shortly after. He returned to his seat and leaned back, fiddling with the pen he was still holding.

"I'm so sorry dear but he can't leave just yet, we still ha--"

"I don't give a shit about your business, I'm taking him home with me right now. If you don't hand him over I'm going back to get the rest of our pack and we'll just take him from you!!" She yelled, moving so that she was leaning on his desk, almost in his face.

She took him by surprise, her medium sized frame and feminine appearance deceiving him greatly. He stood then, moving around the desk to stand in front of her, she still didn't falter. He took in her appearance and smirked, knowing good and well who she was.

"There has been much deceit between packs, I must keep him here until we underst--"

She cut him off again, losing her patience quickly.

"I've already told you once that I don't give a FUCK what you need him for, he's our alpha and he's not staying here! Bring him to me or we're going to take him from you!!" She stepped forward, pushing him back the slightest bit. Again taking the large man by surprise.

"Now, now. Lets keep our tempers in check we don't want to--" She didn't let him finish, she pushed past him and started sniffing around for Jacob's scent.

When she found it she followed it down a narrow corridor to one of the many doors, she knew Tyrone was following her so she just busted it down. She entered and found Jacob immediately, ignoring his current state and lifting him so that he was resting his weight on her.

"Alright, I'm taking you home... you're gonna be alright.." She said quietly, trying desperately to balance his weight.

He didn't answer, just helped her move with him as best he could.

She heard footsteps coming quickly down the hall so instead of using the door, she warned Jacob and they both ran for the window. They burst through the glass, falling the two stories and landing roughly on the ground. Leah quickly recovered, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him back up. Paul came around the side and allowed her to put Jacob on his back, the other two meeting them and taking off for the woods. Leah phased, ruining her clothes of course, and joined them.

"_We obviously have a problem…_" Embry stated gloomily, glancing over at Jacob who didn't seem to be completely awake.

Leah showed them the images of Tyrone, what he said, where Jacob was. Only confirming their worries that his pack was against them, they obviously knew about Jared. Nothing else would push them to do something so stupid. They said stupid because they knew that once Jacob healed it would be a mess, he'd be pissed not only at Tyrone, but would be gunning for Nashoba.

"_He doesn't look so good…_" Seth spoke up, running close beside Paul.

"_When we get back someone needs to call Carlisle, I'll take him upstairs and see what I can do. I don't have many supplies though.._" Leah said as they crossed the borders, drawing closer to the house.

"_Oh yeah, you're like a nurse, huh?_" Embry said with a large smile, a sense of pride that she was able to do something good with herself career wise washing over him.

"_Nurse Practitioner actually.. I can do pretty much anything a doctor can.. I was just a registered nurse first and took the classes to be a NP later.." _She said smugly, appreciating his silent praise.

The house came into sight and relief washed over her, the worry that was continuously building about Jacob's physical state growing with every step. Though she knew he could heal, so did Tyrone. Meaning that he wouldn't just beat him up a little and leave him, it would have had to be pretty bad. But she pushed those thoughts away, waiting patiently with Paul outside as Seth got them some clothes and Embry called Carlisle.

After she was dressed she pulled Jacob from Paul's back. Paul dressed himself and helped her carry him in, up the stairs and to his bathroom, it being the biggest. They placed him carefully on the floor, looking over him as they did so.

"I don't think he's that bad, he's probably just lost a lot of blood…" Leah told him while wetting a rag and washing off some of the dirt around his wounds to get a better look.

Carlisle was there in a matter of seconds, joining Leah in the bathroom with all the tools they would need to clean and close his wounds. Before they could even get started good Embry burst through the door.

"Leah, I need you. An alpha from one of our neighboring packs is here, he needs to speak with someone in command…" He said hurriedly.

"Why are you telling me??" She asked in the same tone.

"Uh… I thought we had gone over this. He's incapable so YOU'RE the alpha until he's better. It would have been Sam but you took over today…" He said almost laughing at her face that wore a very shocked expression.

"Shit…I don't know anything about how things work now… or what agreements were made with who I don't know anything!" She said throwing her hands up in the air.

"We'll help you, it's not like we cant speak! Just come on, he's waiting.."

Leah looked back to Carlisle and Jacob one more time before leaving the room, walking slowly down the steps to speak with the guy about shit she knew nothing about. She couldn't help but feel a little nervous, of course she would never ever tell anyone. But she was. It had been so long since she was involved with pack affairs, so much had changed and Jacob seemed to be such a strong leader she wasn't sure how he handled things. Judging by Sam's refusal to go against his word she guessed it was pretty harsh. Of course the day's events helped her a little, the adrenaline from her encounter with Tyrone still pumping freely through her.

She reached the bottom of the steps and headed for the front door, everyone in the living room staring at her intently.

"I knew you and dad would get back together…" Talon said, folding his arms smugly.

"How did you know?" She asked defensively.

"Uh…. Cause you're going to do his job while he gets better… I'm not dumb mom…" He said rolling his eyes and chuckling.

"You guys stay in here, I'll be right back." She said trying to stifle her laugh, regaining her serious composure as she stepped to the door.

This would be easy right? It was just talking, it probably wasn't even about what happened earlier…. Word couldn't travel that fast.. Right?

* * *

**a/n. Ha ha, Leah's boss now. Until Jacob is better anyway, which will be soon. Everything will be explained next chapter. Hope you enjoyed, reviews please!! (:**


	16. Remember

Leah walked confidently to the large man that was waiting for her on the sidewalk, pushing all of her nervous thoughts away to avoid showing weakness. Though she knew she wouldn't have to deal with it for very long, Jacob most likely healing rapidly as they spoke, it was still beyond stressful. It was hard to believe that Jacob had done it for so long without going insane, but she figured leading them through an entire war probably conditioned him for the mediocre problems they dealt with daily.

"Hi, I'm Leah."

Leah extended her hand to the brawny and fairly attractive man, the hand he offered back calloused and rough to the touch.

"Nice to meet you Leah, I'm Jeremy." He had a seemingly confused look about him, obviously having expected Jacob over this woman he'd never seen before the reunion.

"Jacob ran into some problems and is currently unavailable. I can help you with whatever you need during his absence." She spoke clearly, her formal tone relaxing him a little bit.

"It's much appreciated Mrs. Black, I'm so pleased to finally see you home and in your place. Now, I heard about what happened earlier with Tyrone. I just wanted to let you and your pack know that I have your back, Tyrone and Nashoba both need to be punished and so they will be accordingly. When Jacob is feeling better and decides on what he wants to do, my pack and I will be waiting."

Leah thought about correcting him, the fact that they really were _not_ married and she still wasn't sure if she could move back just yet being brought to mind. Given the situation, however, she just let it slide. The idea not really offending all that much.

"Thank you, I'll relay the message as soon as he's awake." Leah smiled warmly, Jeremy's expression seeming so honest and friendly.

"I suppose that's all then, just tell him to give me a call when he's ready to take action. Again, it was a pleasure meeting you. We didn't get a chance to talk at the reunion, maybe one day, eh?" Jeremy smiled and kissed her hand, his interest in her explaining his warm and friendly expression.

"Sure, that would be nice. It would be a pleasure to befriend those who are friends with Jacob, I've missed so much." Leah returned the friendliness, hoping to end the conversation on a good note.

"Until next time then." Jeremy nodded towards Sam and Embry who were flanked at her sides, both with knowing expressions, neither saying a word.

Leah watched him depart before heading back towards the house, unsure of what the conversation had meant. He seemed to have changed his mind once she approached, pushing whatever he had originally wanted to say away for her sake.

"Well, that was bullshit. I wonder what he really wanted." Embry said grinning widely, throwing an arm around Leah's shoulders.

"Oh well, you did good." He squeezed her tightly as they entered the house, Sam pushing past her to the living room.

Carlisle hopped down the stairs as they entered, stopping in front of her and sighing.

"He's awake, and he's pretty furious. Not quite sure with who but he said he will be down in a little while. Sam, he told me to tell you to bring him whatever news you received from Jeremy when you guys got in. He's beat up but he'll be fine, he was already healing when you brought him in, he just lost a lot of blood. You all take care, I'll see you soon."

Carlisle nodded at everyone before stepping outside, Leah on his heels.

"Hey, uh, Carlisle? I was just wondering if you could, um, tell me how Renesmee is doing?" The image of the small girl she had once taken care of often popped in her head, making her secretly wonder what happened when Bella and Edward returned.

Carlisle stopped and slowly turned to her, smiling his usual content smile.

"She's doing fine Leah, she's fully grown and in school. She's asked about you often, we didn't really know what to tell her. I'm sure she'd love to see you if you ever want to come by. Jacob and the others don't visit very much anymore, he hasn't exactly been a joy since we all returned. But we always welcome any one of you with open arms, whenever you feel like coming, just show up. We'll know before hand."

Carlisle chuckled along with Leah before turning and heading to his car, waving one more time before driving away. _'right, "hi Renesmee, I haven't seen you in fucking forever, please welcome me with open arms and forgive me for sending you away with someone you didn't trust" so simple, right?' _Leah sighed heavily and folded her arms, looking blankly out at the empty road.

When she got back in the house Sam was heading up the stairs to talk to Jacob, she grabbed his arm and turned him to face her.

"I'll go talk to him."

Sam eyed her for a moment and shook his head no, snatching his arm from her.

"It's my job, he asked for me." She grabbed his hand again, increasing her force.

"If you want to get technical, Sam, it's _my_ job. Weather any of you want to accept that or not, that's just how it is. I don't know what your problem is all of the sudden, but you need to get over it."

"Leah, please. Don't fight me on this one, trust me. Even if just this once." Sam pleaded, only to be shoved out of the way.

Leah bounded up the stairs and stopped in front of Jacob's door.

She wasn't afraid of him by any means, she knew he wouldn't hurt her. He had more self control than anyone she knew, well that's how it had been when she was part of the pack anyway. She wasn't sure how everything had effected him, but wasn't going to let that small amount of doubt stop her. It wasn't quite her thing to be afraid, so she wouldn't be.

* * *

'_calm, calm, calm. Breath in your nose, and out your mouth. Stay calm.'_ Jacob stared at himself in the mirror, his current state only infuriating him more. _'how could I let this happen? I should have seen it'_ He shook his head and continued to think over how not only Nashoba, but Tyrone had managed to gain leverage on him. Both knowing things they had been so good at keeping secret over the past thirteen years, the only thing he could think of was that they were spying. Which made even less sense because Jacob always had someone on patrol and none of his pack members would have missed another wolf on their land.

He was on patrol anytime he wasn't at work or with the kids. When the kids were with Leah he was phased most of the time, only returning to his human form to visit with his father or go to work. He knew everything that went on in La Push ninety nine percent of the time and never missed a beat. So how the two alphas had managed to figure out what was going on was beyond him.

Jacob wasn't sure when it had happened, but he found himself fading. When they first returned home he never wanted to return to his wolf form, but now it was opposite. Even with his kids around the only time he felt any sense of calm was when phased. He was constantly worried about something happening to someone in the family, someone he cared about. He knew he couldn't protect everyone, but that didn't make the sense of responsibility go away or lighten up, he couldn't stop himself from feeling like he was failing somehow. The constant façade he put up shielding the real him, the one he wasn't so sure about, away from everyone. Even his own family. Especially his own family. It was a hard transition coming home from fighting the Volturi and anyone else they threw at them, going from always on the move and constantly watching your back, to nothing. To a peaceful home life, something he never really got used to after returning.

Leah leaving had a lot to do with it, of course it made him bitter and upset. She may have sugar coated it but she did take his kids away, they weren't with him. And she wasn't with him when he needed her. It all crashed down on him at once a few months after getting home, and it took it's toll. He wasn't the same, and he didn't know how to be. He didn't know how to go back to his self, he didn't even know who that was anymore. So he pretended. He took bits and pieces that he remembered and put them together to form his very successful veneer, and it worked. Nobody questioned, nobody worried. Nobody but Embry and Seth. They knew him better than anyone, Quil not really hanging around him after they returned home. Apparently Jacob rendered Quil from forgetting, talking to him and being around him only forced him to remember.

So Jacob kept his distance, only speaking to him when it was necessary. _'this is such a good subject to be thinking of while I'm trying to stay calm'_ Jacob scolded himself, splashing water on his face in an attempt to cool down. Sam should be showing up with the news soon, whatever Jeremy had wanted. He would have went down there himself had there not been such a great risk of him phasing and fighting the first person that approached him.

Her scent filled the room like smoke, forcing him to squeeze his eyes shut. He didn't want to see her, not now.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Leah asked sincerely, posting herself on the doorframe.

"I'm fine. Where's Sam?" Jacob tried not to sound mean, but of course it didn't come out that way. His words enough to sound mean even without a harsh tone.

She jerked her head back, obviously confused with his hostility.

"Uh, he's downstairs. I just came to tell you that Jeremy said to call him when you're feeling better. He said he's got your back whenever you decide what you want to do, that Nashoba and Tyrone should be punished accordingly." Leah said with a smile towards the end, their formality pretty comical to her seeing as they were pretty much dogs.

"Oh, alright. I'll call him later." Jacob continued to stand against the sink, not looking at her, not even in her general direction.

"You sure you're alright? You seem sort of, I don't know, upset?" Leah took a step forward and placed a hand on his forearm.

He flinched with her movement, pulling his arm out from under her hand as soon as she placed it there.

"I just need a few minutes, I'll be down in a little while." He said to the sink, Leah's face not something he wanted to see at that moment. His façade weak with the day's events.

"Jake, come on. Talk to me." The irony of her words were enough to drive him mad, he had tried for thirteen years to get _her _to talk to _him_, now she was the one trying to get him to talk.

In a sense he wanted to, to tell her all his problems and what was on his mind. To finally have someone to confide in with all the mess he dealt with, even from so long ago. However, that part of him that was still strangely pissed off at her was hard to fight with. He knew he'd said they could start over, and any other time but right at that moment they could, he just couldn't deal with her in his current state. He wanted to fight, not talk. That was his defense, and on any other occasion he would have just gone and picked a fight with someone, relieving his stress immediately. But what kind of example is that?

He thought having them home was what he wanted, and of course above everything it was, but that meant he would have to do things differently. It had taken him thirteen years to find a way to live with himself after everything he'd done, now they were home, and he was supposed to be the good guy. The one his children could look up to and admire, but that's not how he felt. He didn't feel like an inspiration, he was horrifyingly ashamed of the things they had to do while gone. Not so much to themselves but to the others, it was every pack for themselves, and theirs survived with all its members. Leaving theirs and Jeremy's the only packs to return home with the same amount they left with.

"I don't want to talk right now, Leah." He closed his eyes, unwilling to allow eye contact even if she tried.

She sighed, not really sure how to deal with him. Maybe she should have let Sam deliver the news, he obviously didn't want her there.

"Fine, I'll see you later." Her dismissive and annoyed tone caused him to turn around, unwillingly of course, but he did, catching her before she exited.

He took her hand as gently as possible and pulled her to him.

"I'm sorry, I really am. I'm just really frustrated right now, I've had a long ass day. I'm tired, I'm hurting, I just want to give myself time to calm down before I attempt to carry on a normal conversation." He tried to explain, to make her understand. But of course, having already been offended, she couldn't. She was already mad with his attitude towards her.

"Sure, whatever. Let go so I can leave you alone." Leah motioned to his hand that still had a grip on hers.

"Don't be like that" Jacob groaned, tilting his head back and looking to the ceiling.

"Oh right, you're the one that gets to be the asshole because you don't feel good right? You're welcome by the way, for saving you and all. Next time I'll be sure to send someone else and have them bust into some random fuck's house and drag you out." Leah snatched her hand from him and headed for the door.

"Good God, are we really going to do this? NO! I don't feel good so excuse the hell out of me for wanting a few minutes to secure my self control. Fuck, Leah! This is why I asked Sam to come up here, it's not that I don't want to see you or talk to you. Now just isn't the time, I cant deal with all this shit at once!!!!" He was yelling, exactly what he didn't want to do.

But that's what happened when he was stressed, and like he said, that was why Sam is the one he requested. He didn't care if Jacob cursed or dismissed him, it wasn't the same as it was for Leah.

At the sound of his raised and obviously frustrated voice, Embry entered the bedroom door, sheepish grin in tact.

"Everything okay?" He asked quietly, watching the two as they stood off, face to face. Just like always.

"Fine, get out!" Jacob boomed, startling Leah a bit.

"Come on Jake, maybe now isn't the time…" Embry offered, hoping something in Jacob's head would click and tell him he was right.

But it didn't.

"Embry, get out!!" Both Jacob and Leah yelled in unison, both tempers reaching boiling point.

He sighed and rolled his eyes, knowing he wouldn't win, closing the door as he exited.

"What is your problem? I'm just trying to help you!" Leah started the tirade, her voice matching his for the most part.

"I haven't had your help for thirteen years, I don't need it now!" Jacob returned her harsh tone, becoming more and more angry as the seconds passed.

"We're back to that now? What happened to starting over?" She asked softly, unable to keep her angry veneer once he'd used that.

Jacob sighed and pinched his nose, trying his best to shut up and stop before they backtracked and ended up where they had begun. Back to square one.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. We are starting over, and you're right. I shouldn't be acting this way to you, you didn't do anything. Thank you for coming to get me, it was a dumb move, but thanks anyways." Jacob smirked at her, peeking at her from under his brows.

Leah stared at him for a moment, his words had punched her in the face. Because he was right. She wasn't there for him, she wasn't there for anyone and now she expected to just waltz in and pretend everything was okay. It didn't seem right, but she'd take what she could get for now.

She smiled at him and hung her head, amazed that they were already arguing and neither had thrown a punch. Back in the day whey they'd fight, they _fought_. It was knock down, drag out and completely ridiculous. But it was them.

"You're welcome. And you're forgiven, I guess." She rolled her eyes and sat on the edge of the bed, leaving him standing in his place.

They sat in silence for a moment, until Jacob started for the door.

"Where are you doing?"

"I have things I need to take care of, I'll be back later on." He leaned his forehead on the door, her hands slowly snaking around his torso.

He hadn't even heard her move.

"Cant you just stay here tonight? Just leave it until tomorrow, please. You need time to heal." Leah whispered into his back, clenching her eyes shut to await his answer.

Jacob sighed and turned to her, taking her face in his hands.

"No more fighting?" He pressed his head to hers, rubbing her cheeks softly.

"Promise."

He exhaled loudly and nodded, pushing her lightly over to the bed, both of them laying across it. She ran her fingers down a few of the light scars that traced along his upper body, her brows furrowed at how many there were.

"Are all these from the war?" She asked hesitantly, flicking her eyes to him to take in his expression.

"Most of them, yeah."

Leah traced down his chest, following the largest of the remaining scars to his stomach, ending at his hip bone. She thought about asking but decided against it since they were attempting to keep the mood light. Jacob just watched her while she examined his body, his breathing and heartbeat returning to it's steady pace the longer they lounged there. Before he really knew what he was doing he kissed her, squeezing her hips tightly with his hands, ignoring the pain shooting through his body. _'and they thought they could actually hurt me' _He mentally scoffed at the thought of Tyrone and his men attempting to "break" him.

Pushing everything else from his mind he deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue ever so slowly into her mouth. He wasn't sure how it initiated, or why he caved so easily. He had told himself several times since they agreed to "start over" that he wasn't going to push to hard or allow to much to happen before they really got comfortable with each other again. Yet, here they were, and her shirt was being pulled over her head.

Leah was just about ready to rip him apart, being quickly reminded of how their relationship had started in the first place. And he was exactly they same. He was aggressive and insanely strong, but made her feel completely safe all at the same time. His tenderness felt through the roughness, something only she could understand. It had been so long since she'd been with him but it all just flowed, like they picked up right where they left off.

They went through the motions, savoring every feeling and every emotion, every kiss and every nip. If ever she had forgotten exactly how much she cared about him, how much she loved him, it was all made very clear to her right then. She watched him as he took all of her in, first tracing her exposed skin with his fingers, then following suit with kisses. He was all over her, either his hands or his mouth, something was touching her at all times. The sensations were ridiculous, she wanted to scream, but she couldn't. Everyone was downstairs.

Once they were both naked Jacob snapped out of his little trance, remembering where he was and who all was there. He broke the kiss, pulling her up off the bed with him.

"Come with me." He whispered huskily in her ear, sending goose bumps climbing up her spine.

"Where are we going?"

"Just trust me." He led her to the window, both jumping out and landing steadily on their feet. Jacob's injured position completely forgotten.

His mind was on only one track, everything else unimportant at the moment.

He phased, motioning for her to do the same. When they began running she had no idea where they were going, Jacob stopping her after about ten minutes and phasing.

"Phase back and close your eyes."

She did.

He approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist, pushing her slowly forward.

"Where are w--"

He smirked lightly. "Stop talking"

She obeyed.

When they came to a stop he placed his hands over her eyes to be sure she couldn't see.

"Do you remember the first time I told you that I loved you?" He asked in a very different tone, his voice inaudible to human ears.

She nodded.

"I was so afraid of what you would say. In fact, I remember almost talking myself out of it because you and I were arguing so bad that night. In the end I think it was the best choice I ever made." He continued to whisper, his chin propped on her shoulder beside her ear.

He pulled his hands away and she opened her eyes, they were in a clearing. Their clearing. She smiled softly.

"When you said it I thought you were lying, that you were just fucking with me."

"I know, and now here we are. Kids, and all." Jacob laughed lightly, hugging her a little tighter.

"I wish we could do things over. If I would have known then what I know now, things would be so different." She said almost to low for him to hear.

But he did, and it was hard to hear coming from her.

Knowing that keeping that conversation going would only lead to a hard confrontation, he stopped it.

"But we cant, and it's okay. I love you, and I love them. That's all I need to know." He kissed her cheek reassuringly before pulling her down with him to lay on the ground.

"You sure have lightened up." Leah said almost laughing, straddling his waist.

"Sure, sure." Jacob smirked, taking a good look at her before flipping her over and picking up where they had left off in the bedroom.

* * *

"It's awful quiet up there." Paul said motioning towards the stairs to Embry.

"If one of them died the other will have to come out eventually, but I have confidence that they are both still alive. In fact, I bet they are working out their differences right now." Embry laughed loudly at his stupid joke, everyone in the room trying their best to choke down their laughter.

"That's way to much info, thank you." Hailey scrunched her nose.

"Should we tell him that Alex's mom is here?" Paul looked to Sam then.

"Not yet, let him have tonight. After this I don't think we'll be getting much down time." He responded sadly, trying to focus on the television.

* * *

**a/n. I cut this chapter off. It was getting to long. (: Chapter 17 will pick up with Jacob and Leah right where I left off. Well just about anyways. Reviews = love. Thanks to all the readers!!!! **


	17. To Far

It was nearly impossible to keep up with what time it was, or how many times they had gone through the same motions. Each time seeming better than the last. Jacob refused to let her go, he knew it wasn't that safe being out there at who knows what time alone, but he didn't really care right then. He knew they were getting way to loud, pushing way to hard and being way to rough with each other. But again, he failed to be able to give a shit.

Leah gripped his back with flesh breaking force, her nails digging deeply into his broad shoulders and dragging them slowly down.

He didn't even flinch.

As he rocked his hips rhythmically with hers, pumping himself in and out of her, he was stripped of all cares and left completely shielded by her presence with him. Nothing else was there, nobody else mattered, and for a brief few hours he was content.

Her breath covered his neck as she pulled him down to her, hugging him tightly as he increased his pace. She tried to be quiet, to keep the noise to a minimum, but she was completely unable. Jacob pulled back and slowed, brushing her hair from her face and pressing his forehead to hers. She couldn't explain why it affected her the way it did, but his eyes were completely open, nothing was hidden and she could see so much. It was as if she could really see him for the first time in so long, not who he allowed her to see, but really him, all of him. Her eyes slowly began to mist, the tingling in her eyes and nose matching the vibrations that roared through her body as he continued to slowly thrust into her, his pace entirely calm and complacent.

Leah watched his eyes carefully as they studied hers, both reflecting the same thing. She couldn't stop the wave of emotion that broke through the sensations her body was being wracked with, a single tear making a warm path from her eye down her cheek and dropping to the ground. Jacob brushed away the wet trail and kissed the spot softly, his lips lingering there for a long moment. He rubbed his cheek against hers tenderly, moving down to her neck and burying his face there, his own emotions threatening to push through.

Her fingers treaded through his hair, pulling roughly as she felt herself moving closer to the edge, her walls contracting and tightening around him. She pulled his face up to look at her, wanting to keep that connection she had made before, to watch and feel everything that was going through his mind. It was almost surreal the mind shattering effect he had on her, the last few thrusts extracting them from the real world and giving them momentary peace.

Jacob rode her through her climax as his approached, his pace becoming unsteady as it hit, his body shaking from the sensation. He rested his body on hers for a moment before rolling off to her side, breathing heavily and covered in sweat, his and hers. Leah's eyes were closed, a small smirk tugging at the side of her mouth. He ran his hand across her belly and peppered kisses up her shoulder to her neck and cheek before turning his attention to the slowly lighting sky.

Jacob didn't speak, just continued to look at her, every freckle and scar, every dimple and strand of hair reminding him of something. He noted the way she held herself so much differently when she first arrived, and how she'd slowly fallen back into her old habits, the insane control freak he'd once fallen in love with still somewhere inside.

He couldn't help but smile at her, the silly way she still felt the need to be self conscious even after they'd just had sex God knows how many times was fairly comical. It almost made sense how much he'd missed her after being with her again, before it just seemed like a ridiculous infatuation. Really, who would wait thirteen years for someone to forgive them? It had become somewhat of a sore subject when brought up by fellow pack mates that felt it was time for him to move on.

Leah's cuddled herself into Jacob's chest, sleep overtaking her quickly.

"Come on, let's get you home."

* * *

Jacob watched the storm clouds roll across the pink and orange sky, the distinct sound of thunder rippling through the air as the darkness took over. Lightening flickering behind the large masses as they drew nearer. As warm natured as he was, the wind sent a certain chill climbing up his spine, goose bumps covering his exposed skin. It whipped through the forest, the tree tops swaying violently as they were stripped of their leaves. _'it's gonna be one of __**those**__ days…'_

"Pretty nasty out today, huh?" Sam emerged from the back door, moving to stand beside Jacob at the railing of the back porch.

Jacob nodded but kept his gaze directed towards the oncoming storm, his day looking about as bleak as the weather.

"When do you want to leave?"

Jacob pondered for a moment, not really wanting to discuss the matters with their families but being obligated all the same.

"I guess after everyone gets up and we fill them in."

Sam nodded but stayed put, noticing his alpha's seemingly distant mindset. Before he could initiate the conversation Jacob turned and walked casually into the house, finding most everyone not only awake and moving, but in his home. Sue looked up at him from the newspaper she was reading at the table, silently questioning what the next move was.

"We're going to meet with Jeremy and his pack, then head over to Tyrone's first. Dealing with Nashoba will be a little trickier, he will have to wait until we've dealt with the other bullshit." Jacob informed her loudly so that everyone that should be listening would hear.

"who all is going?" Brady asked hopefully from his seat beside Sue.

"I want a few to stay behind to watch over things while we're gone. You, Leah and Quil should do it.." Jacob's voice finalized his decision, leaving no room for argument from anyone.

"You gonna let Leah know we're leaving?" Seth asked quietly from behind, his arms crossed over his chest.

His facial expression making it obvious that he knew if he hadn't of said anything Jacob would have left without a word, finding it easier that way.

Jacob rolled his eyes and nodded, briskly making his way up the stairs. He stopped at the door after hearing someone behind him.

"There's something you should know before we leave…" Embry almost whispered.

"Ana was here last night, she was really fucked up. Said that they beat her until she told them about her and Jared. They tried to kill her. We told her she could stay here for now but she left in the middle of the night. I wouldn't think anything of it accept… well… you know Talon and Alex are kinda… I don't know if they're dating or what but they're together by all means. I think she might have told her mother, which wouldn't be a big deal had Ana not mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the night…. Get my drift?"

Embry spoke quickly and quietly, not wanting to leak the information to Leah knowing she would be overly worried from that point forward.

"we'll take care of it Em, I'm getting there alright?" Jacob let out an exasperated sigh, nodding at his friend before entering his insanely comfortable bedroom.

Due to the fact that his sleeping schedule was out of whack, he used blackout curtains for times when he had to sleep during the day and always had fans running leaving the room fairly frosty. The dark and almost dense conditions of the room made him want to climb in bed and go to sleep, his lack thereof catching up with him quickly.

He climbed in the bed beside Leah and pulled her to him, his arms securely around her and head resting comfortably on hers.

"I just wanted to let you know that we're leaving now….. Quil and Brady are staying here with you to help watch out for everyone.."

He expected her to argue, to pitch a fit about going with him, but she didn't. She just nodded and cuddled closer to him, kissing his neck and hugging him tightly.

It wasn't that Leah didn't want to go, because God knows everything in her head was screaming at her to argue with him and force him to let her. She had just decided against putting anymore pressure on him, to just go with the flow. As hard as that was for someone like Leah, who had control most of the time, she managed well.

"When will you be back?" She asked quietly, nuzzling her head into his neck.

"Probably sometime after dinner, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. We're only dealing with Tyrone today. I'll call you if anything changes, I promise." Jacob stated in a mock tone, grinning widely as she slapped his shoulder.

He stood and headed towards the door, grabbing his cell phone from its charger as he did so.

"Hey Jake.." Leah's voice was still quiet, having not moved from her place in the bed.

"Be careful… I love you.."

Jacob pinched his eyes shut as he turned back to face the door, the strange feeling he got hearing her say that not making leaving her there any easier. It felt so familiar, leaving her to take care of the family while he went and played soldier. Unfortunately, there weren't many options, and who better to trust with your children then their own mother?

"I love you too…"

* * *

Leah went back to sleep after Jacob's departure, their late night out leaving her completely exhausted. She finally woke up at half past five, the time catching her by surprise when she rolled over to peek at it. Jacob's room was like a damn cave, it was dark and cold, making it fairly easy to _stay_ asleep. She sighed and sat up, her entire body horribly sore and aching.

"Mom are you up yet?!?!" Talon's voice rang through the door, the frustration obvious in it.

She couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes, I'm getting in the shower!" Leah stood and sauntered over to the bathroom, making sure the water was as hot as possible before she bothered getting in.

The night before continued to play in her mind and she found herself forgetting how it actually initiated, everything just flowed so quick and easy. Although she was sore beyond belief, she was content, and felt more at ease then she had in a long time.

After taking a dramatically long shower, Leah rounded up some jean shorts and a t shirt and made quick work of her extremely long hair. While exiting the bedroom she could hear the loud group downstairs laughing and carrying on, her son's voice still sounding fairly agitated.

For whatever reason she felt pretty awkward, she and Jacob had sort of disappeared after their argument and explaining what happened or where they went wasn't exactly the sort of thing she wanted to discuss with her children. She quietly made her way down the stairs and rushed into the kitchen, avoiding most everyone. Besides her mother of course.

"Long night?" Sue glanced up at her daughter from the book she was forcing herself to read, a goofy grin playing on her lips.

"Uh, yeah I guess…" Leah smiled sheepishly as she made herself a cup of coffee.

"Well I guess so…. Coffee at almost six in the evening… must have been a _very_ long night. Where did you end up running off to?"

Sue couldn't contain her small laugh as she asked, finding the situation fairly interesting given her daughter's previous standpoint on her and Jacob's relationship. _'he and I will never get back together.'_ Were her exact words, and now look where she was.

Leah tried to get frustrated with Sue's line of questioning, but instead felt that distant girlish giggly feeling bubble up in her chest. Yes, she was a very strong and independent woman, but we're all allowed a few mushy moments of excitement, right?

"You know where we went mom.." She covered her face with her hands to avoid showing off the large grin she was wearing.

"Uh huh, now lookie what we have here… I thought you would _never ever ever _even think of getting back together with him!?" Sue feigned surprise and placed a hand over her heart.

"We, uh, we decided to "start over".. or whatever…" Leah turned and faced her mom that had an insanely childish presence about her at the moment.

They both started giggling loudly, Leah of course still overtaken with gooeyness from the night before, and Sue was just happy that she seemed happy.

"What's so funny??" Hailey entered the kitchen shoving a donut in her mouth, smiling obnoxiously so that half of it was hanging out.

"You're mother and father decided to give their relationship another go…" Sue said nonchalantly, watching as Hailey's face contorted in excitement, Leah's with anger.

"Mom!!" Leah threw a pack of chips at her nosey and big mouthed mom who seemed to find all of it very comical.

Before Hailey could express her ever growing excitement and ask the question that everyone that heard the news from the living room was dying to ask, there was a loud knock on the door. Quil's face fell along with Brady's as they caught the growing scent of the visitor.

"Everyone go upstairs.." Quil instructed quietly, motioning for Leah to go to the door.

Talon tried to argue, to no avail as his mother got involved in the argument between her son and Quil, forcing him upstairs with the others.

"Just answer the door and act casually, don't say anything about anyone else being here, but if he asks… don't lie."

Leah nodded as Quil sat down on the couch and put on his game face, Brady following suit as Leah opened the door.

"Hi, can I help you?" Leah asked cheerfully, her smile seeming perfectly natural.

Unfortunately, when she realized who was standing in front of her she had a bit of trouble retaining her calm resolve.

"I need to speak with Jacob, is he here?" Nashoba pushed past her into the living room, eyeing Quil and Brady cautiously.

"No, he's not in… he'll be back shortly if you'd like to wait." Leah tried to keep the mood light, sensing his tension.

Quil, however, knew all to well what was about to happen as soon as he caught Nashoba's wandering eyes. He knew better than to make the first move, so he just sat patiently and waited for him to reveal his intentions. Although, matters only seemed to get worse as five of his pack members burst through the half closed door and pushed Leah to the side.

He stood then.

"Alright, what do you want?" Leah watched Quil with a strange expression, his tone completely foreign to her.

"No need to get defensive Quil, we can help ourselves thank you…"

It took about ten seconds after that for things to explode, every shifter in the room phasing accept for Nashoba and his beta who both headed upstairs while their four took on the three in the small living room.

Leah felt herself being crushed, it wasn't really even like fighting, she was just stuck in between all of them. The room was so small and their large forms took up so much room that before it could even begin she was pushed to the bottom, one of Nashoba's clearly pushing his way through and tearing at her as much as possible. When she finally got some lee way and was able to climb back up to the top she noticed Brady's still form flung carelessly into the glass table, the shards flying all over the room.

Quil stayed at her flank as they continued to try and keep any two wolves from ganging up on the other, but ended up failing miserably as the four closed in and took one for each two. It was quite unfair, but then again she guessed that was the point. They obviously had a plan when they came, Nashoba inspected the house before they entered.

Her thoughts quickly trailed off to everyone upstairs and the absence of the two leaders of their pack, putting two and two together, she freaked.

Though her efforts were respectable, and for a moment she thought Quil had gained some sort of upper hand since he and the two he was currently being ripped apart by migrated to the kitchen, but he didn't. She couldn't seem to get the leverage she needed, they were always one step ahead. Quil seemed to be doing better than her, but she didn't feel to bad since battling it out with other wolves wasn't exactly her specialty anymore. No matter how she looked at it they were both screwed, she could feel teeth and claws sinking in and pulling at her from all angles, any way she turned something hurt.

They were moving in a circle, and it was becoming impossible for her to even stay up. When she turned right, she turned into one, when she turned left, one was already there. She felt a extremely sharp pain shoot through one side of her neck, followed by another and noticed they were pulling her to the ground by her neck, one on each side. It didn't take long after that, she couldn't move, she couldn't hear, everything went out slowly. And then it was over.

Quil heard one last frighteningly loud yelp come from across the room and then it was still, he continued to try and push through, one of the wolves necks was currently lodged in his mouth. He was jerking it along with him as he moved towards where she was, but the two that had been attacking her noticed his advances and jumped in without question to be sure he went down, and stayed there. His head hit the tile shockingly hard, and he was no longer able to progress. He was still conscious enough after the four released him to hear the yelling, he heard someone phase, a large crash. Then silence. He tried to move, to get up. But was completely immobile.

His eye lids became heavy, his vision blurring as Nashoba's men left the house. Nashoba stomped down the stairs pulling someone with him. They were coming towards him, leaving through the back door he guessed and when they passed he heard Hailey's voice asking for him to help her. She was the last thing he heard, and her face was the last thing he saw.

* * *

**a/n. Soooo… again…. I'm sick. Forgive me if the chapters aren't that great. Hope you enjoyed it all the same. Will be updating Heartbreak Warfare later on tonight. Maybe I Run to You if I can stay awake. Thanks to all the readers. Reviews are much appreciated. (:**


	18. They Took Her

The air was thick, the fog from the rain creating a blanket over the ground. It was still drizzling slightly, the forest a damp, moss ridden orchestra. The sounds coming from the water and the remnants of the storm all working together to sustain a loud melody. They were just talking, nothing had happened. But he was nervous. His mind kept drifting back to the house.

He couldn't breathe.

Something was wrong.

"Tyrone I've said it a thousand times and I'm not going to fucking repeat myself! I've had it with you and Nashoba, now you either leave or we'll make you leave. It's as simple as that."

Jacob tried to retain his calm veneer, but the anxiety was eating away at him. He could feel it, they needed to leave.

"Jacob this is our home, just like La Push is yours. I know we've acted unfavorably but you cant--"

"I can do whatever the fuck I please and there's nothing you or anyone else can do about it, now make your decision!!!!" Jacob's voice pounded through the forest, his frustration reflected in his words.

Tyrone stared at him, taken aback by his sudden hostility. There had been none when they first arrived, he wondered what caused the change. Jacob's features were much different, they were tense, he was tense.

"I thought we were trying to be civil here…" Tyrone attempted to dig without being obvious, Jacob's unstable attitude putting him on edge.

"I'm through being civil with you bastards, you've done nothing but try to hurt me and have even stooped so low as to bring my _**family**_ into it! If being civil meant nothing to you when you were taking it upon yourselves to try and fuck with me, then I don't see why it should apply now. What's the saying? 'You receive what respect you give'?"

Jacob's phone sounded off in his pocket, had he not been so antsy, he might not have answered.

"Hello?"

When he spoke he tried to sound calm, but the voice on the other end did nothing of the sort. Sue was screaming, it was obvious she was fighting sobs. He couldn't even listen, everything stopped. Tyrone was still talking to him, he could see their mouths moving but heard nothing. Sam and the others were trying to talk to him, but he couldn't respond. The only thing he could bring himself to do was drop the phone and run, he had to get home.

* * *

Talon's body was frigid and tense, his muscles contorted and sore. He opened his eyes slowly, attempting to blink the blur from his vision.

He sniffed.

Trying to get a grip on who was still there with him, he went through the names. He smelt Sue, Alex, Clair, Rachel, Emily, Kim… Mom…. Brady….. Quil….

His eyes shot open and he forced his body up. He shoved the broken wood and glass from his body, pushing the large shelf off his waist.

He ran.

He tore through the house, nearly taking every door from their frame. He could hear himself screaming her name. Sue tried to grab him, to make him calm down. But he couldn't. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think.

She had to be there.

Nobody would be that stupid.

Right?

Talon moved back through the upstairs after searching every inch, bounding down stairs and swallowing the lump after seeing Rachel attempting to wake his mother. He moved over to her and checked her over, briskly moving from her to Brady then to Quil.

They would be fine.

He had to find her.

He wasn't weak by any means, he was strong. He knew it. But he was upset, he almost couldn't fight the urge to break. His eyes felt heavy and were tingling.

They were long gone, and he would never be able to find them. He didn't know how, not like his father did. Talon ran back in the house, pulling Quil up so that he was almost sitting, shaking him roughly to try and wake him.

"Quil! Quil, wake up!!"

He slapped him in the face, still shaking him with one arm. He had to wake up, had to tell him where his father was, where he could find him.

He had to find him, so they could find her.

Quil's eyes opened slightly, a loud groan erupting from his chest. He finally realized where he was and his memories came flooding back to him.

"Oh my god…" Quil breathed, looking at Talon's face and knowing that his foggy memories were correct, they took her.

"Where's my dad!?" Talon stayed on track, refusing to waste anymore time.

"I don't know, kid. They didn't tell me where the meeting was, we're going to have to wait until he gets back." Quil rasped, his voice hoarse and shaken.

"Is Leah okay?"

Talon helped him stand, pulling him up by his shoulders and looking over his body. He couldn't accept it, he couldn't wait. He wanted to, he knew that he shouldn't leave, not with everyone so shaken and alone. Quil, Brady and his mother were hurt, he needed to stay. But he needed to go, he had to get her back. He was completely torn between common sense and impulse. Logic and panic.

Quil didn't need an answer, he could tell by the look on everyone's features that nobody knew. Rachel was doing what she could to stop the bleeding, but that's as far as they had gotten.

"I called Jacob, he's on his way…" Sue sat on the bottom of the stairs, her eyes puffy and red.

You could easily tell she'd been crying, nobody blamed her. Emily cried. Rachel cried. But he knew his mom wouldn't. She wouldn't cry, if she was awake she'd have already been out looking for her. If they hadn't beaten her to hell and back, she'd have never let him take her. He couldn't say her name, he couldn't think it. He missed her. She hadn't been gone for an hour and he missed her. He felt empty without her, she was his twin, his other half. He needed her to survive. And she was in trouble.

"How long? Did he say where he was?" Quil inquired, leaning heavily on the wall, his weight almost to much for him.

He was hurt, it was easy to see. Though he wouldn't admit it out loud, had he been human, he'd be dead. His blood was all over the kitchen floor, the side of his head a huge knot with a gash down the middle. He covered the kitchen, Leah and Brady covered the living room. Their blood mixing into one huge puddle. It was a sick site, Clair couldn't handle it. Neither could Emily.

"He didn't say anything after hello, he knew. I could hear it when he answered…" Sue said quietly, knowing that he'd be there soon, and that things would escalate heavily after he did.

There would be no more talking or playing, he'd be furious. He'd be upset. And he didn't know any other way to deal with it but to fight, and that's what he'd do. He wouldn't want to talk to Leah or Talon about how much it hurt, about how scared he was. He wouldn't offer support or comfort, he wouldn't stay for any longer than it took to get the whole story. He'd get what he needed, and he'd go take care of it. Just like he always did. Then, he'd suffer in silence, never bringing it up again. Sue knew Jacob, and she knew how he worked. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, or pretend he wasn't hurting, she knew he was. She could see it in his eyes.

Quil only nodded after she spoke, feeling the same thing she was. Knowing what was about to happen, and that he would have to sit it out.

"Someone should call Carlisle, Leah and Brady don't look so good." Quil flashed a grin at his council member, receiving nothing in return.

"We already did, and you don't look so good yourself." Rachel tried to lighten it up, to play along with his little joke, but everyone sank into a heavy silence.

Emily, Alex and Clair stayed upstairs because they didn't want to be around all the blood, unable to handle how strong it was. Talon stayed close to the door, waiting for his father's scent to reach him.

Carlisle entered through the front, not even bothering to knock, he could smell how bad it was when he walked up. Edward trailed not far behind.

When he glanced around the room he immediately noticed everyone's sullen expressions, the worry that radiated off of them. But he didn't ask, he didn't question, he just went to work on who he thought was worse. Whoever needed the most attention always went first, so he took Leah and Edward took Quil. Brady's injuries not seeming to be that severe, he was just unconscious.

Nobody spoke, nobody moved. They just watched and waited. Waited for the doc to tell them that everyone was alright, waited for the inevitable to come bursting through the back door. All they could do was wait.

* * *

He could barely see in front of him, but he didn't stop. The fog was so thick and heavy that nothing was visible past his snout, but he pushed harder. He knew something was wrong, he had felt it. But he did nothing. That stupid sense of guilt washed over him again, the one that told him he'd eventually fail, that he'd lose someone. He'd allow someone to be killed. He had managed to keep everyone safe in the war, to bring everyone home. Yet, here he was, rushing home because something happened. Because he wasn't there to protect them, he was to preoccupied with "_work_", with _"business"_.

"_You cant be everywhere at once Jake._" Sam tried to reason, to make him see that he wasn't God, he couldn't protect everyone.

"_So Tyrone is more important? We should have been there Sam, we shouldn't have been so blind. It was Nashoba, and I guarantee they were working together. This whole thing was a fucking trap, and we ate it up. I fucked up this time, I can feel it._"

He was being honest, he was sick. His stomach was in knots, he felt nauseated. He didn't want to know who it was, he didn't want to know what happened. Because this time it would be personal, it would effect him more than anything else would have. If they hurt his family, they'd hurt him. It was unavoidable, and if they succeeded, he'd be lost.

Sam didn't know what to say, so he stayed silent. There was nothing he _could_ say, because Jacob was right. They hit home this time, and if they killed someone all the blame and guilt would land right on Jacob's shoulders. The pack would feel it too, they'd all be broken, but Jacob would be shattered. Never to be put back together, he was barely hanging on as it was.

When they reached the backyard Jacob skidded to a stop, shooting dirt from underneath his paws as he stood shell shocked. There was blood, a ton of it. And someone was missing.

He phased and stayed put, staring blankly at the house. He knew it then, he knew what happened. He knew who it was that was gone.

He fell to his knees, barely able to conserve his ragged breaths.

He was choking.

He gripped the ground roughly, digging his fingers into the dirt and uprooting the small blades of grass. His knuckles turned white as he squeezed harder, the scent of blood attacking his senses. He could smell them, the three that were injured. He could hear everyone's heartbeats, all but one.

Sam approached him from behind and yanked him up by his shoulders, barely holding himself together as he did so. They had to find out exactly what happened, they had to know for sure. And they needed to find out immediately.

"Jacob, I know this is hard, but you _have _to pull it together. If you want to find her, we have to find out what happened…" He spoke softly, trying to avoid bringing anyone else into the conversation.

Jacob didn't do well with group therapy, Sam was the only one that was ever able to talk to him, to keep him stable.

"Sam… they took her…." Jacob wheezed, choking back his tears.

"I know Jacob…. And we have to get her back NOW. The longer we wait the further away they get…"

Jacob knew he was right, he knew that they needed to get moving, they needed to get her back. But he couldn't breathe, the further it sank in the harder it was for him to advance, to pull himself together.

"They took my baby girl… they took my _daughter_."

"Alright listen to me Jacob… you're doing exactly what they wanted you to do… right now at this very second you are letting them win! This is what they expected you to do…. It's what they needed you to do… get a fucking grip and let's go get her back!!"

Sam was yelling, he wasn't going to let him do this to himself. He wasn't going to let them break him, he was their alpha, they needed him.

Jacob responded quicker than Sam had hoped, right after he said it Jacob jumped up and straitened himself, brushing away the few tears that had forced their way out. He walked to the side of the house and grabbed a pair of the many gym shorts he stashed throughout the yard, and burst through the back door.

His breath hitched when he entered, seeing Carlisle over Leah's limp body was enough to send him back into his little episode.

"I need to know what happened…. **now.**" Jacob directed his loud demand to Quil who had just turned to face him.

"To sum it up, Nashoba showed up and walked in, five others busted through the door after him and they attacked us. Nashoba and Ray went upstairs while the other four were on us and we were all three down before they came back. I saw him take her Jacob, he was dragging her across the floor… she was screaming… but I couldn't move… I'm so sorry…"

Quil had started strong, the rest of the pack listening intently, but by the end of his statement he was shaking. He didn't want to tell him, he knew it would hurt him, they had been through enough. Jacob had been through enough, he didn't want to be the one to deliver the news he knew would tear him up.

"That's all? They didn't say anything?"

Jacob's voice wavered, he tried as hard as he could to keep it monotone, but he was unable. He was upset, and for once in what seemed like forever to the rest of them, you could see it on his face.

"No, nothing. He asked for you first, but after he knew we were the only ones there… that's was it.."

Quil looked to Talon, knowing he had been upstairs when it all happened. Apparently Jacob had no intentions of looking at his son, not at that moment anyway. Not until he spoke.

"They came upstairs, they busted down the door…. I phased and I guess his name is Ray attacked me…. I couldn't get past him. Nashoba just watched for a minute and then grabbed Alex.. He looked at her for a minute but after he sniffed her he threw her back down on the floor and snatched Hailey up and drug her out of the room.."

Talon's voice was loud and he seemed stable, his worry had quickly turned to anger while he waited.

Jacob nodded slowly, his eyes distant. After a moment he snapped his head up and motioned at the door to the rest of the pack.

"We're going after them, Quil you stay here. We'll bring her home…" His last statement was directed towards Sue, nothing about him faltering any longer.

He was firm, and determined. She knew he'd bring her back, it was just what happened to her in between that worried her. Hailey wasn't familiar with situations like those, sure she was technically a shape shifter, but she wasn't raised around them. She didn't know how to handle rough situations, nobody had ever taught them. Sue just hoped she'd be able to hang tight until they found her.

Talon followed them outside, not saying anything, but had one of those looks. The ones that not even Jacob would be able to argue with, well, that's what the others thought anyways.

"What are you doing?" Jacob turned abruptly, a hard expression on his features.

Talon didn't falter, though his father's stance and body language were screaming at him to turn and run. He wasn't the Jacob Talon was used to dealing with. There was no softness or parental ground with him, he was just the alpha. Their leader, and Talon had to plead his case.

"She's my sister. I'm not staying here, I have to go. You know you wouldn't stay, you know that if you were me and it was mom or Hailey that you wouldn't.. you couldn't…" Talon's features mimicked his father's in almost every sense.

The only difference was the innocence. Jacob was worn and hard, his son was a vision of him seventeen years before…. Before the war… before Leah left him.. Before his life was turned upside down.

Jacob didn't answer, only nodded and turned. Talon used everything he had not to jump up and scream, but he held his composure and followed what the others were doing, watching carefully and mimicking his father's motions. They all undressed quickly and phased, nobody speaking, only following Jacob deep into the forest, following the fading scent. They moved an insane speeds, Jacob at the front with Sam and Paul at his flanks, Talon falling in back with Jared, Embry and the younger ones.

Jacob wouldn't slow down, the boy wanted to come, so he had to keep up. He didn't have time to worry about anyone keeping pace, the only thing he could concentrate on was her scent. It was fading, and he had to hurry.

* * *

Hailey opened her eyes and winced, the pain was horrifying. She couldn't move, she could barely see. She didn't know where she was, but she remembered everything.

"Glad to see you're awake, don't worry sweetheart, we'll be home soon." Nashoba grinned at her as they settled into the camp they'd built.

She didn't answer him at first, unsure of what to say. What could she say?

"My dad's going to come get me… you know he will…" She mustered up what courage she could and sounded fairly strong, refusing to allow him to intimidate her.

At least not visibly.

He laughed loudly and winked at her. "Already thought of that dear… way ahead of you…"

She shut her eyes and sighed. _'he's coming to get you, he wont leave you here…. You're going to be fine…'_ She tried to reassure herself, and it worked for the most part. She knew her dad well enough to have faith that he was already on his way.

The man that had her slung over his shoulder threw her down on the ground roughly, earning loud coughs and ragged breaths from her. She drug herself through the dirt to lay near the fire, the large group of men all eyeing her mockingly. Disturbing smirks on all of their faces.

One of them snatched her up by her arm and pulled her tightly to his chest. "how bout' you and I cuddle up together… I'll warm you up.."

He laughed loudly and pressed his lips forcefully to hers, tangling his fingers in her hair and pulling hard enough to make her almost scream. His grip on her head tightened, his kiss easily bruising her face. She couldn't suppress the tears that were falling from her eyes, knowing she was completely alone.

As quickly as he had pushed himself on her, he was off, being thrown over the fire and into a large stack of wood. Nashoba looked to all the men with an angry glare, his face red and body shaking.

"I told you…. Nobody touches her… next person to disobey will be punished accordingly… understood?"

They all nodded as Nashoba pulled her up. Her encounter with the other man made her jumpy enough to push Nashoba away, hitting him in the chest as he tried to drag her along.

"Let me go!! I'll kill you I swear…. Let me go!!!" She screamed in his ear, punching him with as much force as she could gather.

Nashoba finally tired of her screaming and flailing and turned to slap her directly across the face, grabbing it roughly with a calloused hand and forcing her to look at him.

"now you listen to me, I'm willing to keep them away from you but if you keep this shit up I'll throw you back to them like a piece of fucking meat. You can either come with me, or have every single one of them fuck you senseless…. Take your pick!" He was inches away from her face, his hand squeezing her cheeks with bone crushing force, her face caving under the pressure.

Hailey nodded and released a sob as he let go of her face, grabbing her arm and pulling her violently to where he and Ray were sleeping.

"**DO. NOT. PHASE.** Do you understand me? If you do I'll kill you on the spot, assuming that you let them know where you were." Nashoba threw her down on the ground and tossed her a small blanket, then phased and laid down close to her, Ray on the other side eyeing her cautiously.

She curled up in a small ball, letting the tears flow freely now that she was away from everyone but the two. Her body shook with each sob but she didn't make a sound, silently thinking of a way she could phase without anyone finding out. Before she could even begin to brainstorm, she fell asleep. The long night finally taking it's toll on her body. _'he's coming for me…. He wont leave me…. ' _

* * *

**a/n. Riiight…. So I updated as best I could. (: Don't hate me if it's sort of vague. I'll be updating this one and I Run to You either later tonight (not likely, but I'll try) or sometime tomorrow. This one took forever for some reason, I dunno, I don't write well when I don't feel good. Reviews make me feel better, so hit that cute little button. You know you wanna. (:**


	19. Found

Two days.

It had been two whole days since Nashoba had taken Hailey, and Jacob was officially losing his mind. He didn't know what to think of their jumbled scents and seemingly directionless patterns. It was a confusing and extremely long trail, one that had him frustrated to the point of nearing blind fury. Had he not had his son and friends with him, he felt as if he could have already snapped.

The anxiety was eating away at him, he wanted to find her, to make sure she was okay. But they were eluding him somehow, in a way that he wasn't familiar with. He thought he'd learned pretty much every trick there was, he'd used so many during the war. Head to head with the vampires being replaced with evading and sneak attacks. Those being the best way to avoid losing large numbers at once, something that was important to a pack that was as close to each other as his. Nashoba didn't care. His pack members and himself were bound only by the basic rules. Dominance and obedience.

That was one of the things that worried Jacob the most. Nashoba's lack of humanity could have easily led to him using her for his own purposes rather than just holding her captive. The whole situation was completely over his head at the moment, why they would take Hailey rather than Leah was beyond him. Leah had experience, she was older, her genes more developed. For breeding purposes it made more sense. Hailey and Talon's genes were completely new to their world, no other female wolves ever existed to have pure bred children. His and Leah's relationship was apparently something nobody had ever anticipated, and the thought of them having children was completely absent until she showed up with the two of them. The alpha gene alone was enough to make the two of them valuable, but they were completely undeveloped, they had been phasing since they were toddlers, but their senses still seemed weak.

They hadn't phased at what they would normally have called the "right" time, there were no vampires or any sort of threats anywhere near them to make them phase. Which led Billy and Sue to believe that their genes were strong enough to force the phase before it's time, pretty much meaning they would have to be taught everything rather than just having it like they all had done. It was a very new, very different concept to their culture that they had previously thought impossible. Leah wasn't supposed to be able to have kids, and some of the council members still thought it impossible, at least without an alpha. Hailey and Talon were the exceptions and nobody was sure how to categorize them, not yet anyway.

Having thought of that, it reminded Jacob just how unprepared Hailey had been for something like her current predicament. He hadn't ever taught them how to deal with a dangerous situation, not one that severe anyway. They hadn't been exposed to a lot of the darker sides of their world, the vampires they knew were friendly and didn't eat people. He sort of regretted sheltering them the way they had, now that it really counted.

"_Jacob, I've got her scent…_" Paul skidded to a stop a few feet from him, panting and lowering himself to regain breath.

"_Are you sure?"_

It was fairly hard to believe that after two days her scent just showed up out of nowhere.

"_Yep, and it's strong._"

Paul stared at him, anticipating his reaction. Wherever they found her he was sure they'd find Nashoba and his men, an encounter of the very unfriendly nature, one they had all been waiting on for a very long time.

"_Let's go," _Jacob rose and headed in the direction Paul had come from. "_we better get on it before it disappears again_"

He sighed one good time before pushing away any doubts and fears he was sure he had been harboring, motioning for the rest of the pack to follow. As they approached her scent, one that was obviously fresh, he started to be able to feel her again. She was close.

He sped up.

About the time he reached the clearing, right when he caught hold of her scent and pushed in it's direction, as soon as he was sure they were close enough to reach her that time….

He heard it.

He heard _her_.

* * *

Leah wasn't sure what hurt more, her head or the fact that she had no idea what was going on. When she woke she was in Jacob's room, tucked in his bed with bandages covering most of her head and neck unable to recall exactly what happened. The air in the house was thick, suffocating her more and more as she moved through the upstairs trying to grasp who was there and who wasn't. Maybe snatch up some sort of idea what was going on or what happened.

She sat down on the edge of the tub in the bathroom and rested her head in her hands, thoughts and images started flooding back to her as she forced herself to think. It didn't take long for her to remember what all went down, and the cause for her bandages and splitting headache were the last things she could remember. Thinking back on the sequence of events she remembered Brady's limp body laying on the broken coffee table and the group of fairly defenseless family members that had been left upstairs. With that, she stood and moved slowly out of the bathroom, using the wall as she made her way down the hallway towards the stairs. She could hear them all talking lowly in the living room obviously trying to keep the mood light, but their voices betrayed them.

The hurt was apparent in their tones, it was an underlying worry that shone through the false happiness and carefree attitudes they put on that began to unsettle her already rattled nerves. Leah was going to try and stay calm, to listen and really hear all the details and small pieces of the story she knew she had to be told. Something was very wrong and with every step she took the air that had seemed a little thick when she first woke was suffocating her. When she finally reached the base of the steps the meaningless chatter and distraction based conversations stopped, she noted who all was there before even entering the room. Quil was her main target, he was the last to go down and the one who would tell her the truth, he wouldn't lie or sugar coat it. Not like Sue or Rachel would.

So she sucked in a breath and turned the corner, holding onto the doorframe to keep the ever growing dizziness from taking her to the ground. When she scanned the room nobody was looking at her, they were avoiding it. Now she knew it was about her, their reluctance to speak or even so much as breathe gave her all she needed to know. A small sense of panic began creeping into her already nauseated stomach, something that was causing unwelcome tears to show themselves on the brims of her eyes.

Leah finally made eye contact with Quil and her very pleading features slapped him across the face, he didn't want to be the one to tell her that someone from another tribe, someone who would kill without cause, had taken her only daughter. Even through his selfish and uncaring veneer the dread was firmly in place, but he knew he was the only one that could do it without causing further damage. If Sue or Rachel or even Emily tried to tell her they would break down long before she would.

Quil rose from his place on the couch and crossed the now clean living room floor, grabbing Leah's arm and leading her into the kitchen. When safely in the other room she leaned heavily on the counter and watched her pack mate carefully, unwilling to release the strong hold she had on him with her eyes. Instead of staying at a distance and refusing any sort of comfort, Quil approached her slowly and carefully, wrapping his arms around her waist and allowing all the pressure she had been putting on the counter to fall on him. On a normal day she would have beat the shit out of him for just _thinking_ about touching her, but she couldn't force herself to care at that moment, it was nothing remotely close to a normal day and that was the last thing on her mind.

"Do you remember anything?" Quil whispered strongly into her ear, trying his hardest to remain calm.

They had been gone for two days and he'd spoken to them twice. He was hoping she'd hold it together long enough to hear the entire story, but he didn't get his hopes up. It would be dumb on his part to do so.

"I remember everything up until I blacked out, I need to know what happened after that." She replied with a similar softness, but there was much more lacing her words.

Things Quil refused to acknowledge, partly for her, and partly for himself. Leah was one of the strongest people he'd ever known, ever seen, and he refused to expose what she was trying so hard to hide. Nobody wanted to feel vulnerable or unprotected, people like her needed that security to live. She kept her feelings to herself and avoided allowing anyone to get to anything she wanted kept secret. The only person she had ever let in on any level was Jacob and she had just gotten him back, Quil didn't really want to think of the mess she probably was for those thirteen years without him.

"Nashoba's men came in and took the three of us out, then they took Hailey. Jacob was gone a whole ten seconds after finding out what happened and has been on their trial for two days now. I talked to them today and Sam said they had her trail again. He said it was strong and that Jacob had re-linked with her so she had to be close. She and Jake were talking when I was phased but I couldn't really hear what they were saying, Jacob was way ahead of the others…"

Instead of breaking his story into two parts, he decided to take the safe route and just say it all at once. He pulled away and peeked at her to try and get a feel on what he'd be dealing with, but instead of the angry beast he figured he'd be faced with, she was completely still. Those tears that had threatened before she heard what happened were now running freely across her face, and didn't seem to have any intent on stopping. She wasn't sobbing or choking on her breaths, it was just tears. But all the sadness and worry she was harboring was clear behind her eyes, and she didn't seem to be trying to hide it.

"I need to talk to them, I need to know what's going on." She said simply while looking up at him and trying to push him away.

He knew she'd try to go after them, and he was prepared for it. She'd never catch them, and her presence in their minds would only distract them, especially Jacob. So he didn't budge. He stood his ground against someone who he knew would rip him to shreds if she wanted to, and could only offer her a sympathetic look. It was all he could muster up, and it wasn't working.

"Leah, you wont catch them. They are going to bring her back, you know Jacob wont stop until he finds her. Just trust him.." At the time he'd thought it was a good thing to say given their rekindled relationship, but it wasn't, and he regretted it almost immediately.

"Trust him? Do you know what happened last time he left and I trusted him to come back?? He left me here hanging for four fucking years! No word, no nothing! What am I supposed to think?" A single sob escaped at the end, one that signified just how upset she was.

It occurred to Quil at that moment that she and Jacob weren't over all of their problems and still had a long way to go. If she couldn't trust him, what chance did they have? He knew what Jacob went through daily, he could feel it when he phased in after him, they all could. And be it beyond him to intrude in other people's relationships, this was a subject that was sore for all of them. Not just Jacob. Quil knew she could never understand, none of them could, but she had to understand that it wasn't a choice. He didn't _want_ to be gone without so much as talking to her for four years. That was a long time, for all of them. It struck him a little odd that she was still holding on to it even after seeming to reach some sort of level ground with Jacob.

Quil pulled back, but still stood directly in front of her, refusing to grant her retreat. She had a right to be upset, but not to doubt Jacob's ability to get Hailey back. If their alpha was good at anything, it was his jobs, any of which were bestowed upon him.

"Leah, I know you still have some…. _issues_… with Jacob. But he's good at what he does, and he would never let anything happen to her… I honestly cant believe you would doubt him. Not with something like this."

Leah stared at him for a moment and he could literally see when his words sunk in, her features softened and she tilted her head. It wasn't that she had meant to blame him or doubt him as Quil had said, she was just upset and Jacob was just… there. Maybe that had always been the problem with them, maybe it had always been her. She used him as her safe guard, the one she was able to punch and scream at without worry that he would strike back. Well, physically he'd always give her a good shove or maybe a small clip to the chin after he'd had enough, but he'd never strike her where it hurt the most. Jacob knew all of her deepest darkest secrets and fears, things she had never told anyone else for fear they'd one day use it against her. But in a span of thirteen years, all of which she was sure he was pissed at her beyond belief, he never once brought any of it up. He just allowed her the time she needed, and sat by patiently.

Of all the times she'd seen him be the only one to keep his head and stay calm, she was starting to think that maybe he wasn't as carefree as he let on. The small comments and remarks made to her daily by the pack members and even Sue were pointing in a completely different direction, one that made her feel the slightest bit selfish for being unable to pin point.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just… so they found her?" Leah had a million things running through her mind and honestly couldn't stay anywhere near one track. It was fairly difficult to ask the one question she had managed out.

"Yeah, they're really close to Nashoba's home territory so Jacob wanted to get to her before they crossed the borders. That would mean larger numbers and getting in and out more difficult."

Quil released the grip he had on her hips and sauntered over to the table, plopping his still sore frame into the wooden chair. She could see the frustration on his face, she knew he wanted to be with them. Hell, she did too.

"Well, that's good I guess…"

Leah began pulling the bandages off of her head and neck, exposing the still healing lacerations almost all the way around. Her head wasn't as bad, it was mostly small nicks and scrapes making it possible to pull her hair up into a messy bun. As she disposed of the blood soaked bandages her mind traveled back to something she'd failed to address before.

"Quil, where is Talon?" Her teeth were gritted tightly, and his words were already ringing in her head before he spoke them.

Quil sat still for a moment, watching her frozen figure. She was pissed, and he could see it rippling through her entire body. All her muscles, all her veins, all the way down to her bones, and it was scary. He cleared his throat and pinched the bridge of his nose, he closed his eyes tightly and…

"He went with Jacob and the others…"

He hadn't been prepared for what she did next, and although he heard her loud exit when he opened his eyes she was nowhere to be found. He ran outside and followed her scent, but couldn't follow it past the spot her torn clothes were lying. Quil knew he had to stay, their family was there and Brady was not only injured but was incapable of protecting them alone. Hell, three hadn't been enough. So he stood and watched as the trees rippled from her contact with them, the leftover leaves falling slowly to the ground that had been dug up by her paws. She was gone, and there was no talking her down. She was Jacob's problem, he'd done the best he could. But it _was_ Leah they were talking about, not exactly the easiest person to deal with. And the last person you could even think about bossing around.

* * *

She had lost count of the hours, and it was becoming impossible to tell where she was and what was going on. They just ran and ran and ran, only stopping at night to rest. That could have been the best way to keep track of how long she'd been with them, but they kept giving her something to make her sleep. Nashoba said it was easier to carry her that way, but she had no idea what it was or how they were giving it to her. She didn't think it was an injection, she hadn't seen any sort of needles. So that only left the idea that they were putting something in her food or drink.

By the time she woke up they were already setting up camp, and she had decided she wasn't going to go out that way. He told her she was to be married to his son, that she was going to save their tribe with her genes. It was a sickening thought and she refused to be wed to someone she didn't even know and most defiantly wasn't going to be some sort of breeding experiment. She was afraid, that was a given. What she was planning was dangerous and she wasn't confident that she could pull it off, but she had to try. She wasn't going to just hand herself over.

"Nashoba, I have to pee.."

During her stay, Nashoba had grown fairly fond of her and she could tell. He would allow her to go off and use the bathroom alone, and would do small things like forcing everyone to stop to let her clean herself up when they reached water or something simple like that. He had to know she was staling, hell she wasn't trying very hard to mask it. She was trying her hardest to keep them in one place as long as possible to allow the party she knew was following to catch up. But he still allowed it, and never said a word.

"You know the drill. Five minutes, hurry up." He didn't look up at her, nor did he move from his rested position by the fire.

They had begun creating two fires at night, one for the pack and one for the alpha, beta, and hostage. Apparently the others didn't understand him the first five times he told them not to touch her and she had received several beatings because of it, actions that resulted in two pack members dead and the rest hating her for it. Though it wasn't really her fault, they surely weren't going to take the blame.

"Thank you."

Those two words were, what Hailey hoped to be, the last words she'd speak to Nashoba until she found her father.

Hailey crept slowly into the woods, hastily going deeper and deeper until she was sure she couldn't see the fire anymore. When she reached the point where all the sights and sounds of the camp were completely gone, she ran. It was one of those moments when she knew there were only a few ways the situation could turn out, and she planned on having complete control over the outcome.

She knew that phasing made it ten times easier to track her so instead of doing so right away, she stayed human and pushed herself as hard as possible until she reached a small clearing. Once in the middle she took a few seconds to catch her breath and take a look around, although she couldn't tell where exactly she was she would be able to show Jacob when she phased and make things much easier. Another thing she'd learned and had remembered, was that water was the enemy when tracking, so that's what she'd find. She took a moment to inhale and try to locate the closest water source which, thankfully, wasn't to far away judging by the strong scent.

She retreated in the direction the water's scent was coming from and gracefully dodged branches and leaped over large limbs and roots as she made her way quickly, and quietly, through the thicket she found herself in. The sound she'd been waiting for broke through the silence and she had to stop herself from yelping with satisfaction. Hailey descended down a steep ledge, taking large chunks of dirt and rock with her as she slid down to the bottom. As soon as she reached it she jumped in the water and headed towards the current, another thing she'd noticed on the way there, they were headed down stream. She was sure to stay in the water at all times, avoiding any sort of contact with the bank or risen rocks.

It was a tough call, deciding when to phase. As many times as she ran through it she was sure that as soon as she did they'd be all over her scent, and taking into consideration her estimated twenty minute absence they were surely out looking for her by now. They would have followed her strait to the river and, knowing Nashoba they way she had come to, he'd have split them up. Meaning that a few were probably on her trail and she knew that if Nashoba wasn't in that group, she'd be in a bit of trouble.

She reached a large incline, one that she knew would be hard to climb, but looking around her she really had no choice. It wasn't quite a waterfall, but it was a steep slope and the water was rushing down at incredible speed. Hailey looked up and down her large problem for a moment before finding a starting point and rushing it full speed. She didn't slow down the entire way up, never skipping a beat or losing her grip, and when she reached the top she was completely spent.

It was then that she decided it was a now-or-never situation, and she took the now. She stripped quickly and spread her clothes strategically in the opposite direction that she'd be traveling in, then phased. As soon as she did, she heard them. A loud and fairly scary jumble of voices, all of which she recognized. But she didn't hear Jacob's, when they didn't notice her presence she tried to find him. Searching everyone's minds and traveling through the link they shared to a seemingly empty abyss that was distributing no thoughts. She hesitated before speaking, unsure of exactly what to say and how to go about it, but she was a little short on time and although she was currently running as fast as she could upstream, she knew they'd be gaining on her.

"_Dad_?", was her sheepish and quiet intro. One that boomed throughout the mental link the pack shared.

When he heard her voice, Jacob was pulled to an abrupt stop. They had crossed the clearing her scent was coming from and were currently headed in an awkward direction following the river. He could smell the others close behind her scent and was unsure of who was in the lead, them, or Nashoba. An uncertainty he wasn't willing to let go on for to long given the fact that he still didn't know how far away she was.

"_Where are you?" _He really didn't want to sound so forceful, or lack the concern he was sure he had omitted from his voice, but it wasn't the time.

He had to find her first, then he could release the insane amount of emotions that were coursing through his pulsating veins. One thing he'd learned the hard way, don't delay, don't waste time. It would only come back to bite you later.

Hailey shot him the images she'd been collecting during her small journey and he was on it immediately, he and the pack shoving past the stubbornly fixated trees that never seemed to want to move out of their way, resulting in many of them being broken or shattered.

"_Stop running, stay put_." Jacob barked to his daughter, who instinctually slammed on brakes and stood rooted to her spot.

Jacob followed her directions like he had been there a million times, no mistakes, no hesitation. He knew it could easily be a trap, it wasn't likely that she escaped without someone noticing, but he was ready. So were the others. And they burst through the remaining trees with frightening force, sending Hailey a few steps back upon their arrival. When he saw her, he could breath again. He circled her quickly and let out a breath he'd apparently been holding for who-knows-how-long, she was alright. A little battered, but nothing to damaging. She was alive, and he'd found her. That was enough for him. Though the fact that hey had yet to hear or see anything out of Nashoba was beginning to worry him, along with the rest of the pack.

"_are you alright?_" Jacob finally asked her as he positioned himself in front of her and the others.

"_yeah, I'm fine, but we should go. They'll be close behind… I don't know how much of a head start I had on them.._" Hailey turned to leave but was stopped when she noticed the others staying behind.

"_you didn't have a head start Hay, they let you go. You wouldn't have been able to escape if they'd wanted to keep you.._" Jacob informed her softly, waiting for any sort of signal that Nashoba was approaching.

"_Well… what are you planning on doing? We cant stay here.._" She looked around at the others and immediately knew what was going on.

They were going to send her back with someone and stay to deal with Nashoba, something she wasn't having. She wanted them home, she wanted everyone to get home safely. But she could tell by her father's expression that he wasn't budging, he and Sam had those looks. The ones that said _'I say what's what and you cant argue with me'_, the ones she hated with a passion.

"_Talon, Jared, Embry and the pups take Hailey home. Sam, Paul and I will stay and deal with this. It shouldn't take to long._" When he spoke she was instantly panicky, three against a whole pack seemed a bit ridiculous.

"_the three of you cant do this on your own! They'll kill you, Talon and I can make it back alone.. We'll be fine dad I swear just don--_"

Jacob was glad she was alright, and he was utterly relieved that she was unharmed. But at that moment, he had other things to deal with and she wasn't making dealing with them any easier. Of course he wanted to go home with her, he wanted to talk to her and let her tell him everything that happened and how scared she was. The fact that she somehow gained the courage to attempt escape sent pride pumping through him, and he wanted to hear how she managed, how she did it. What her plan was and how she executed it. But he couldn't, and the longer she stayed, the harder it was becoming for him to do so.

"_We can handle this, now go. I'm not going to ask you again, all of you, GO!!" _It was loud, it was demanding, and it left no room for another word.

Hailey stared at him for a moment, along with her brother, before nodding and turning to leave. She knew he wasn't angry with her, and she knew he was only doing it to protect them, but it didn't seem fair to her. Why they had to handle it alone while they all went home, but she also knew there was no arguing with him. He was going to stay behind and do whatever he had to, then he'd come home and pretend it was all okay. She was sixteen years old and knew better than to think her father was alright all of the time, though he put on a beautiful façade, he was slipping up more and more as the time went on. It was only a matter of time before he fell apart, and she knew that. It was just the who he fell apart on that bothered her.

* * *

**a/n. I had to cut it off, I'm tired. (: I'm so sorry for the delay, I've had a lot going on. Will be updating much more after tonight. I'm hoping to finish I Run to You this week. So watch for the update. Thanks to everyone following and reading, I hope you liked it. Review please!!**


	20. Purpose

**a/n. Okay, to avoid confusion in this chapter; I will be switching between Leah, the group with Hailey, and the group with Jacob. After the sequence of events take place they will all end up together, the POV wont be specifically with one person. It will be more of an overview and mixture of everyone. - Now, I plan on taking this for a pretty good many chapters more even after the current issues are resolved because I still have plans for the relationships in this story. (: Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy.**

* * *

She wasn't sure what she could do, or if she would even be able to find them. She had been out of practice for so long. In fact, she could barely remember the last time she'd had to track anything. Embry and the others made finding Jacob a piece of cake so that technically didn't count. Leah knew she was angry and that was about the only thing fueling her at the moment, her energy level and ability to run in a strait line weren't holding up very well. She wasn't quite sure who she was angry with or if it even pin pointed one person, she just knew that it was all she had to hold onto and she wasn't letting go. Weather she ended up yelling at someone when she next saw them was still up for debate.

Her mind was dead set on finding her kids and bringing them home safely. A part of her knew that they would get home anyway, that Jacob would be sure above anyone else they would get home okay. But Leah wasn't really a watcher, she was a doer. And during her stay in La Push, one that was much longer than she had previously planned, she had done a lot of watching. It was irritating and completely uncomfortable for her. She didn't like watching and waiting, she hated not being involved. She hated all the responsibility falling on Jacob and Sam. Though the others participated, the two of them seemed to have most of the weight buried on top of them.

It was strange how much things had changed since she'd been gone, how different the pack was and how they handled things. When she was with them there was only one or two surrounding packs and they never heard anything out of them until the Volturi began threatening. After word spread that there were a ton of vampires coming into town more and more seemed to flock to La Push for instruction and to offer help. She could only assume that after the war all of them just stayed around, they seemed to have divided up the land around La Push and Forks to avoid confrontation and overlapping. It was something she wasn't familiar with and she hadn't really had time to ask. Her visit had been fueled by nothing but insanity and stress. Most of it anyway, some parts she considered favorable. Though she and Jacob were far from where they had once been, they were working towards it.

About seven miles from the La Push borders, she smelled them. She allowed the satisfaction of her still present tracking skills to wash over her and refuel her dwindling speed.

"_Embry?" _She could hear them all speaking at once, but her voice silenced them. They apparently hadn't been expecting her.

"_Uh, Lee, what the hell are you doing?_" He almost laughed as she approached them, a very wolfy grin present on her face.

"_Figured you guys could use a hand._" Leah didn't really acknowledge anyone else, she went strait to Hailey and did a once over before speaking. "_Are you alright??_"

"_yeah, I'm fine. Dad, Sam and Paul stayed behind to deal with Nashoba._" She was basically tattle telling, and everyone knew it.

Hailey couldn't stand leaving them behind, in fact, she had tried the whole run to convince Embry to turn around. Talon had joined in and they succeeded in annoying their currently-in-charge-wolf to near insanity.

Leah looked to Embry after Hailey spoke and he just gave her a _'I'm not the boss'_ look then turned away. Of course he wanted to go back, of course he wanted to go fight with his brothers and alpha. But he had orders, and those were to get everyone else home safely. So that's what he was doing. Though Leah seemed to have other ideas.

"_Let's go back.._" She offered softly, reflecting the same thing they were all feeling.

Embry shook his head and sighed. "_I don't know Lee, Jake wanted us to get them back.._" He'd never understand why she had such a pull over him, but the fact that it was there was undeniable.

"_I know, but look at it this way. We have all the pups, the two of us, Jared, Talon and Hailey. Number wise, we'd be a lot better off…right?_" She had no idea what she was talking about, and had no idea how many Nashoba had with him or what sort of difference Talon and Hailey could make.

But she had to try.

Embry took a moment to think it over and he really didn't have much of an argument besides the basic _'alpha told me to'_. He hadn't taken long, in fact, he was deciding to disobey in record time for someone like him who usually did exactly what the alpha said, always. But his small lapse in judgment, as some would have called it, was made brief by a sound that sent chills up his spine. He quickly remembered why they were rushing home and leaving the three to deal with Nashoba, and their prediction was quickly becoming a reality. Jacob, of course, had suspected a trap. And so far, it was playing out just right. The timing was a little off, location was unknown, but the fact that they were circling and closing in was a dead ringer.

"_Leah, take Talon and Hailey and run. I don't care where, just do it quickly._" Embry stated calmly to his old friend, never tearing his eyes away from the woods.

The footsteps were becoming distinct, and the sound was ringing in their ears as the circle grew. Soon they showed themselves and it took Embry and the others by surprise. There were a lot more of them than previously estimated, and that wasn't posing in their favor at the moment. Embry started to question the fate of his alpha and beta, the fact that there were so many more than they thought was rattling his nerves.

"_Where we gonna go? And how do you suggest we get past them? Sorry Em, looks like your stuck with us on this one._" Leah said curtly, moving to stand beside him and watch the forming posse.

"_Have they ever fought like this before? Have you?_" He could almost hear the smile in her voice as she spoke, so he returned the biting attitude, something that she was obviously expecting because it made no difference.

"_no, but it seems that there is really no choice. You'll just have to teach quickly._" Leah retorted sarcastically, the aftermath of her earlier encounter still causing brief disorientation.

Embry rolled his eyes and scoffed, as if he'd have time. They didn't look like they were there to talk, in fact, there was no middle man. Nobody phased to talk and negotiate, therefore, it was safe to guess they had a purpose. The longer he looked at the enclosing wolves, he noticed they weren't all from the same pack. Jacob had been right, Nashoba and Tyrone were together and they apparently had a plan.

Nobody was able to speak again, after a few moments the whole area erupted in a mass of insanity. Embry stayed close to Leah and the twins, knowing the others were experienced and needed no looking after. Still, he could hear loud yelps and cries he was sure weren't coming from the enemy. They had them outnumbered easily three to one and as he began trying to really watch what was going on, he could see them using that fully to their advantage.

The bites to the sides didn't bother him, the set of jaws that currently had the side of his neck wasn't all that bad. None of what was happening really phased him. Accept the tinge of helplessness that was settling in. He was still close to the three he had assigned himself, and he could see them slowly being taken down. Hailey was obviously the easiest, and to his surprise Talon was holding himself as well if not better than his mother. Leah, of course, being Leah was stubborn and fought as dirty as needed. But as the seconds passed, she was losing her ground. She was injured from earlier, and it was weighing on her the longer and harder she tried to push. It was becoming difficult to keep an eye on them, his current situation becoming more and more impossible to get out of. The pups were doing alright, Jared seemed fine, but what really bothered him were the obvious number differences in who was attacking the pack members, and who was going for Leah and the twins. They seemed to be waiting for something, some of them just standing there watching while the others kept them occupied.

Embry managed to finally get rid of the two he was dealing with, their stamina going out long before his. It was then he noticed the much larger figure standing on the small ledge above where Leah was being backed. He was just watching, sitting patiently and swishing his tail from side to side. Tyrone seemed calm, as if nothing was going on. His brawny figure never much for long distance running or long term fighting, it was usually in his best interest to wait until later in the fight to join. Which is what he seemed to be doing. Until Embry noticed his very slow and casual decent to level ground, watching Leah's small brawl with a much larger male go under way.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Leah to know when she couldn't win a fight, it was Tyrone's intentions that scared him. The whole thing had been set up, so there was obviously a target. And the more he thought about the sequence of events the more it made sense.

"_Leah, I don't care how hard Tyrone advances, don't fight back! If you don't fight back he's not allowed to kill you._"

Embry yelled through his thoughts, causing mental images of Leah punching him in the face to appear. Any other time it would have made him laugh, but judging how long it would take for him to cross the small battlefield they had going on to get to her, he couldn't manage a laugh. He began pushing his way through the large figures, dodging any attacks and ignoring all challenges. The ones who were just standing around took an interest in him when they saw where he was going, something that only confirmed his previous thoughts about Tyrone's intentions. He began strategically weaving his way through instead of pushing, crawling under and jumping over, moving in and out of the latched figures and getting through quicker than he'd hoped.

When he reached a small patch of clearing, one without a bunch of snarling brutes, he stopped to asses what was going on. He looked back and spotted Talon and Hailey helping each other, he was fairly impressed with how Talon was holding out. But praise would have to wait.

Embry turned and continued his trek to where Leah was still defending herself, helping her get the remaining two off. He stood in front of her defensively, staring directly at Tyrone. He noted Tyrone's uncaring attitude, and watched as he advanced. When he did, they all did. The wolves that were previously paying no attention to any of them turned and began closing in. They were literally backed into a corner and before he could even blink she was snatched and dragged to Tyrone, her loud whimpers reverberating through the forest. He tried to make a move, but was quickly cut off. From what he could count, he was fighting at least five. It didn't seem that he would last very long at that rate.

* * *

Jacob found himself feeling sick again. It was that same feeling he got before when they took Hailey, the same feeling he got when he found out he'd be away from home for six months, a year, two years, three, four. The feeling he got when he returned and Leah was gone. When she came back and had his children with her, when she left again. Hell, that feeling traced all the way back to Bella and when he realized she was going to be a vampire and there was nothing he could do. When he really knew he meant so little to her that she would die for someone else. It was a feeling that could never be mistaken for another. It was distinct and always on target. Most of the time it left him in shambles, but not yet. He had to find out what was going on, to solve this little dilemma.

When he was sure they were all well on their way home he turned back to the woods. He knew Nashoba was there waiting, he had been all along. Jacob wasn't stupid, and he was far from naive. It may have had something to do with Hailey, but she wasn't what they really wanted. So he'd find out what that was, and if there was no way to negotiate, he'd handle the situation in a way that best suited his family and people. Putting it formally anyway.

Jacob phased and folded his arms across his chest, looking to the woods with accusing eyes. "Alright Nashoba, it's just us. You can come out now."

He spoke mockingly, the cowardice he was facing made him a little nauseas. Nashoba was always a coward, just like Tyrone. He knew they were working together, it hadn't been something he'd considered before Hailey's escape, but it was clear now. Jacob heard rustling and watched as the bushes and trees rippled from movement and Nashoba finally emerged, a large grin in place. He moved to meet Jacob halfway across the clearing, Sam and Paul standing nearby.

"You knew this was a trap, why in the world would you even bother coming?" Nashoba laughed as he spoke, a tinge of humor lacing his words.

"You knew I'd come after her no matter what, why in the world would you take her to begin with?" Jacob shot back with a similar smirk, holding his head up high and hoping Nashoba would challenge him. It was petty for him to wish it, but he hated them all more so than he could even say he hated vampires.

"Well, it's not like you being here has foiled anything. You've been right on target so far."

Jacob went over what he'd asked again before digesting the words. When he looked back at Nashoba it was all the confirmation he needed, they bested them. He knew better, honestly he did. And the fact that he'd allowed two of the largest idiots he'd ever met to get one past him and his pack was enough to make him vomit.

Without another word Jacob turned and phased, making a bee line for the trail he knew Embry would use. Sam and Paul stayed close on his heels, both questioning him loudly. He heard jumbles of loud yelling and cursing throughout the link, images of what was going on soaring throughout everyone's minds. Jared sent images of Talon and Hailey in good shape, both protecting each other. The next scene was Embry and Leah, him trying to help her, then her being drug away. It was all very clear to everyone at that moment what was going on. It never made sense to him why they would take Hailey instead of Leah, but the fact was that if they had tried to get to Leah in a different way it most likely wouldn't have worked. They needed to separate the pack, to weaken their resolve and get her alone. And they did. She was who Tyrone wanted, she had been from the moment he'd seen her. Nashoba agreed to help only to hurt Jacob.

Jacob saw the tail end of the large brawl from a distance, he and the two at his flanks pushing harder and arriving there momentarily. When Jacob reached the scene he was immediately greeted by a mass of teeth and jaws. Of course, them being much smaller than him, he blew through them like they were nothing. He found Embry and, along with Sam, managed to kill all that were attacking him. To Jacob's surprise, Tyrone only watched. Leah was pinned to the ground close to where he was posted, whimpering softly under the pressure. Tyrone phased when Jacob stood his ground.

"I see you've made it after all. Nashoba apparently failed to keep you." He spoke harshly, obviously upset with Jacob's presence.

"I'd say this whole thing was set up pretty poorly. He didn't even try to stop me. I guess he's not as reliable as you thought?" Jacob didn't want to antagonize him, he just wanted it to be over. But Tyrone was difficult to be nice to, even for someone like Jacob.

"I'd say we have a situation here, and I want to resolve it just as much as you." Tyrone took a step forward and bowed his head slightly.

"No. Give me Leah, call off your men, or I'll keep to my word." Jacob said with a low growl, his chest vibrating loudly.

"And what word is that?" Tyrone's smile was weak, he knew what Jacob was talking about, and he knew he wasn't lying.

"I'll kill everyone here."

With the threat, came a burst of adrenaline throughout the field. Tyrone lunged, Jacob meeting him mid air for what seemed like a clash of giants. They were loud, and they were huge. They knocked others out of the way as they slung each other's bodies around like dolls, ripping and tearing at each others throats and trying to gain the upper hand. It didn't take long for Jacob, he'd been waiting for a fight. Waiting to release some of that pent up energy and emotion, and as everyone stopped to look, he broke Tyrone's neck. Quick and almost gracefully, he twisted the large wolf's head around and threw him into a nearby tree. Tyrone landing with a loud thud directly beneath.

Jacob suddenly heard clapping, a low chuckle echoing through the silence. It made him nervous, and he knew who it was. He turned slowly to find Nashoba standing on a rock a few feet away, smiling just as he had been before.

"Nicely done. Thank you for disposing of my garbage. I hate getting my hands dirty unless completely necessary." Nashoba kept his hands locked together, his face contorted with excitement.

Jacob barked loudly in his direction, demanding to know what he was doing. What he wanted. Unfortunately, Nashoba was eager to let him know.

"I have quite the surprise for you, Jacob.." Nashoba motioned towards the woods with his hand, and two men drug Talon roughly from the trees. "Your son, correct?"

Jacob's stomach dropped to the floor. It seemed that he'd had it right about one, and wrong about the other. Though, what he'd want with Talon was still a mystery to him. Jacob phased and held his hands up in surrender, nodding slowly, but not saying a word.

"Good, then we are right on track. Do you remember when we were fighting the Volturi?" Nashoba took Talon by the hair and shoved him to his knees.

"Of course.", Jacob replied simply. Trying desperately to sound as calm as possible.

"Do you remember the fight that broke out, the one that you so heroically intervened in?" Nashoba's tone was becoming more elevated, the emotion beginning to shine through.

Jacob nodded, refusing to repeat himself.

"Then you remember the young boy, the one from my pack … the one that you killed?" Nashoba's eyes were on fire, boring into Jacob's features reading every movement carefully.

"Yes, I remember him." Jacob said cautiously, still unable to connect the dots.

"Well, his name was Logan. He was my son, my only son." Nashoba stopped short, unable to finish his sentence.

But he'd said everything he needed to say. Jacob understood then, and the realization scared him to death. It all made sense. A son for a son. The reason Nashoba told Tyrone about Jared and Alex, the reason he told Tyrone about Talon and Alex's relationship. All of it connected in a twisted and estranged plot to get them where they were at that moment. Nashoba with Talon under his hand, and Jacob there to watch helplessly.

"Nashoba, I killed him because he was killing everyone else. He was eating people, he was attacking his brothers, my brothers. He was out of control and you refused to do anything about it, what was I supposed to do?" Jacob refused to plead with him, even in his current position. It may have been domineering and somewhat irrational, but he wasn't going to bow to him.

"He was my _son_. What would you have done?" Nashoba searched Jacob's face carefully, he wanted the truth.

Jacob didn't want to answer, because he would have to be honest. His son, his daughter, their mother, hell even the pack members might not have liked what the truth was. But he had to say something, even if it hurt them.

"I would have killed him myself." Jacob's words were strong, and everyone knew he was being truthful. Talon didn't hold it against him, he'd have expected it of him more than anything. It was the right thing to do.

"No, you're wrong. You would have tried to hel--"

"There **was** no helping him Nashoba! He lost his fucking mind! We were in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to eat, nothing to drink, nowhere to sleep but the hard ass ground. We were all miserable! But _**he**_ lost it. Not us, not any of the others, him. And he was the one that had to be dealt with." Jacob interrupted, frustration gripping his words.

Thirteen years was long enough to get over a grudge. Then again, thirteen years should have been long enough to get over the war itself, yet he still relived it every night. He dreamed of it often and was frequently haunted by his actions. Maybe he was right to still be angry, even if Jacob's actions were justified.

"Well, I'm sorry to have to do this, but you know how it goes. Eye for an eye, son for a son…" Nashoba continued talking, but Jacob's attention was captured.

Leah was slowly stalking up the back of the large boulder, crouched and awaiting command. It was a long shot, and he'd have to be ready to take over once he was down, but it was doable. When she reached the middle he signaled for her to stop but nodded to show he was on board. Nashoba pulled a knife from the bag he had by his side, still talking loudly to whoever was listening. It was funny seeing him with a weapon, as if they needed them.

"Hopefully after this is taken care of we can all go back to living peacefully." Nashoba said softly before raising his hand and pulling Talon up.

Before Nashoba could bring the weapon down, Jacob waved his hand and Leah crashed into Nashoba's back. And just as Jacob had expected it took a whole three seconds for Nashoba to phase and turn on the defense. He turned on Leah quick and hard, her neck being his first stop. She wasn't anywhere near his size, barely enough to knock him down. But she'd done her job, and she had barely been on the ground for a few seconds when Jacob stepped in to do his.

When Leah rose she was human, involuntarily phasing after being crushed into the ground. Embry and Sam were at her side, both human, watching the fierce fight before them. She wasn't sure what to think. She didn't know weather to be afraid for him, or afraid _of _him. Because truth be told, he was quite intimidating when he was in his current mood. Sam chuckled lightly under his breath as he watched, obviously unafraid for his friend and alpha.

"Why in the hell are you _laughing_?" Leah folded her arms and eyed him accusingly, frequently tearing them away to watch the insanity before her.

"I don't know. I'm tired. I know he's tired. This is all just so ridiculous." Sam rubbed his eyes and moved them to an approaching Talon who plopped to the ground in front of his mother. His eyes fixed on his father.

It was a long process, each gaining and losing dominance over and over. In the end, it was the same as all the others to Jacob. One false move, and he took advantage. Then Nashoba was dead, and he was left tired and bloody. You would think he'd have been happy, but he couldn't smile. He was quickly overcome by exhaustion, and before he reached his awaiting pack, he collapsed.

* * *

**a/n. Sorry if it's a little vague. I'm so freaking tired but made myself finish this tonight. (: I promise I'm updating I Run to You in the next day or so, probably tomorrow. I just wanted to get a little further in this one. Please review, they make it much more fun to update. (: Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. Hope it made sense, if not just message me and I'll answer any questions. **


	21. Decision

He heard them talking and understood everything that was being said. He could feel hands pressing down on his chest and hovering over his face, they were doing CPR. Idiots. He didn't need CPR, he needed a nap that lasted about two months. He needed a world that didn't involve constant battles for peace and vendetta ridden pack leaders whose newfound purpose in life was to make him miserable. He needed an effective way to forget all the vomit inducing memories that haunted him regularly and still made it hard for him to live like a normal human being. He knew he wasn't, but it didn't take away the desire to _feel_ like one. He wanted his family, a life with them, barbeques and PTA meetings. Clichés that would bring him nothing but joy. It broke his heart thinking about what happened that day. That his children had to deal with what he had dealt with for so long. It was his job, not theirs. He felt bad that Hailey had been taken and Leah had been hurt. That Quil and Brady had been attacked with no chance of winning, that the others had to witness all of what took place.

He heard them screaming his name, he may have quit breathing. He couldn't be sure. It didn't really matter. He was to busy thinking. His thoughts roamed rapidly around his children and their presence in La Push, that they'd never be safe. That he may lose them one day because of a mistake he'd make. That their end would come from his neglect, the fact that he was so obligated to so many other people and places taking away from his devotion as a father. He wanted to focus on them, to make them his number one priority. But there was no one else. He was their true leader, their true alpha, the protector of their home and people. Only him. Sam had already held the position, and he would never take it again. He knew just as well as anyone else that if he'd been alpha during the war, they all would have died. Jacob had insane instincts, ones that pulled them through and kept them sane. He was their voice of reason, the one they turned to with anything they felt they couldn't handle. Hell, he might not have been able to handle it. But he always pulled through, for them. For Leah, for his kids, for his people.

But he was tired. He was tired of fighting, tired of killing, tired of worrying. The fact that in over seventeen years he hadn't had a moment's peace grinding heavily on his resolve. He'd forgotten what it was to be happy, to be calm and complacent. To have lazy Sundays and go to ball games with his son. He'd never been able to watch his daughter play one of her softball games or sing in her school choir. And he never would be able to. Because they didn't belong there. It was their home, but it wasn't safe for them anymore. It may have never been, he was just to blind and to eager to have them with him to realize it. Hell, maybe they were all blind. Maybe it wasn't safe for any of their families to be there anymore. Nashoba and Tyrone were gone, but who was next? Who else would find a reason to want Jacob and his family dead and act on it? What if they weren't so lucky next time? What if he lost one of them? He'd never be able to live with himself. It was hard enough even with them there. He still battled with himself all day everyday, wishing he could forget. Wishing he could just start over like he'd once wanted for him and Leah. But it seemed he'd never get that chance. It was always something. Always someone. They'd never be normal, never be safe. Not with him.

"Jacob! Can you hear me?" Sam's voice broke through his thoughts, forcing his eyes to open and see what the damage was.

"No, you're only screaming in my ear…" Jacob rolled his eyes and held his head with his hands, noting his position on the ground and the many people surrounding him.

"Guess you were determined to get that nap, huh?" Sam joked, the smirk he'd managed quickly vanishing after noticing Jacob's solemn mood.

"Sure. What's the damage? Anyone missing or dead?" Jacob's voice was harsh, his questions blunt and lacking any sort of emotion.

He refused the hands that were offered to him as he rose to his feet, not even bothering to brush himself off. He was naked and would be phased soon, who cared.

"Hey maybe you should sit down for a minute…" Leah offered, attempting to take his arm but he snatched away and moved so that he was distanced from all of them.

"I'm fine. Someone answer my question."

Sam recognized the tone, and immediately reacted to it. For whatever reason he had thought Jacob would be different given his families presence, but that had apparently gone out the window a few moments ago. Sam knew what Jacob was going through, he worried about Emily everyday. He wouldn't have kids because of it. The thought of a family in the world they were currently living in scared the living shit out of him, and Jacob had that worry ten fold every day. Sam knew they were always on Jacob's mind, that they always had a certain pull on him that kept him on the lighter side of things. He always thought about what they would think before he did something, before he made a decision. But that hadn't really held it's ground since everything with Nashoba and Tyrone started, Jacob had sort of reverted back to the way he was without them. It was something Sam knew would cause a lot of problems if it continued and he'd have to intervene quickly before Jacob did something he'd regret later.

Jacob's face was distant, and he refused to look in Leah's direction. Sam could see Hailey and Talon standing close to her, eager for Jacob's attention. The anxiety was obvious on their faces, he didn't blame them. It had been a long day and a scary one for kids their age with no experience with that sort of thing. They had both been scared to death when Jacob and Nashoba were fighting, and they wanted to talk to him. They wanted him to tell them it was all alright, that they were safe. That he was okay. And Sam knew that behind all of his current infuriation with the situation and the way their lives were, he knew Jacob wanted to do that for them. It was just getting past everything he had been brooding and dwelling over for over thirteen years that was the trick. Not something that was going to be easy to do. Even for someone as strong as Jacob.

"Paul did a sweep and as far as we can tell right now everyone is accounted for. But we do have a lot injured, Embry is gonna have to be carried. We need to get to the Cullen's and have everyone checked out.." Sam looked Jacob up and down, noting his battered condition. ".. and get you fixed up.."

"I said I'm fine.." Jacob snapped, turning to Sam with an unnecessary defensive stance. His eyes reflecting everything he was feeling. "Everyone phase and get going, Sam you and I can get Embry."

Sam didn't respond to the childish reaction Jacob gave him, he just nodded and Jacob immediately turned to leave. When he was gone, Sam turned his attention to Leah and the kids. Some of the pups and Seth had gathered around the three and were awaiting Sam's next move. Jacob had set the law down, but Sam was there to fill the gaps and make sure everyone was alright. Nobody held it against Jacob, they knew he was having a hard time. Everyone but his family that is. They had no idea, and thus took his exit and avoidance to heart.

"Are you guys okay?" He asked Leah softly, her confusion and anger about Jacob's attitude prominent on her face.

"I guess," She turned and faced her children. " you guys okay?" It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that she was upset, and her words were cracking the more she tried to speak.

"Uh, yeah, my back hurts but other than that I'm alright." Hailey answered first, reaching around to her back and returning it to the front covered with blood.

Her eyes got wide at the site, not realizing before then that she was bleeding. Leah's expression mocked hers for the most part, Talon turning her around to see where it was coming from. It looked a lot worse than it really was, but it didn't make the sight any less nerve wracking. Leah moved to her and poked at it until she was satisfied that she'd be okay to get to the Cullen's on her own.

"You'll be fine, it's nothing that cant be fixed quickly." Leah smiled at Hailey who refused to smile back, she was just as upset as her mother.

For once in her life, her mom wasn't enough right then. She had always wanted to move to La Push and be with Jacob, she'd always wanted a life with him, to know him inside and out. To know that she and Talon were his whole world, but she never actually needed him as much as she did right then. She knew he had been upset about everything that was going on, she saw it in his mind before they left him to deal with Nashoba. Her fear of him breaking and who it would be on was slowly coming into play, and unfortunately she and her brother and mother seemed to be at the butting end of that break down. She knew it only came from worry and complete exasperation, but she wanted him to see that they were okay. That she wasn't afraid and that they both understood and wanted to stay with him. They wanted to be apart of the pack, even after seeing and going through everything they'd endured during their stay. It was hard not to run after him and scream out how she felt, but his face before he left stopped her. She knew he wouldn't talk to her, he'd just ignore her presence then go about his business. Doing what he does best.

"I'm good, no worries." Talon said with a smirk, trying to mask his frustrations. He knew what Hailey was feeling, he felt it too.

Maybe it was because he was their father and they were in tuned somehow. Maybe they had some sort of connection. Whatever it was they could sense his anxiety and doubt. And unfortunately, it wasn't hard to guess on what he was having second thoughts about. He just prayed that either one of the pack members or them could make him see that everything was alright, that they accepted what was going on. It wasn't his choice to make, they were sixteen and able to know what they were getting into by staying. And his mother knew all along.

"Alright, well I guess we head to the Cullen's then?" Leah turned back to Sam, his eyes seeming rather distant.

"Uh, yeah. I have to go help Jake with Embry, we'll be close behind." Sam turned to go, still pretty deep in his own thoughts.

"Hey Leah," Sam looked back over his shoulder, his brows furrowed. He wanted to tell her that it was alright, that he was just upset and would be back to himself before she could blink. But he just wasn't sure anymore. It had been a long time, a long ride, and it was finally wearing Jacob thin. "..be careful."

It was the best he could get out. What else could he say? He knew she wanted him to tell her what was going on, what was wrong and how she could help. But he didn't know. Hell, he had about as many problems as Jacob did. They all had them. But how do you get over something that nobody could possibly understand? Maybe they were over dramatizing it, maybe they were being pansies. Either way, Jacob had had enough. And who knew what that could mean for everyone else.

* * *

Sam finally caught up with Jacob who was leaning over Embry's obviously pained body, chatting lightly with him.

"How is our little dumpling?" Sam smirked when Embry looked over at him, an eat shit look firmly planted.

"Eh, he'll live. Should have known better than to send him without me around to save his ass.." Jacob joked, standing and preparing to phase.

"Oh hardy, har, har." Embry stuck his tongue out and rolled his eyes, trying his best to fight the smile that was threatening.

"Alright, so you know the drill.. We phase, you hop on one of our backs, we switch halfway. Got it?" Jacob looked over long enough to receive a nod and phased, Sam following shortly after.

When Embry was firmly on Jacob's back, they began their run. Sam was hesitant about saying anything to Jacob, it usually was in everyone's best interest to stay out of his personal affairs. All having experienced his short fuse that only seemed to be getting shorter at one point or the other. But it wasn't about him anymore. Before everything exploded, he started something with Leah and the kids. He and Leah began mending their relationship, they filled the twin's heads with ideas of moving back to La Push and being a family for the first time, ever. It wasn't something he could back out on so easily. He had to think through this one, if not for his sake, for theirs.

"_Jacob, you and I both know that I'm never one to get into yours, or anyone else's business. But I think that we can also agree that this is a very different matter… a much more complicated one.." _Sam began what he thought would be an explosion, but was surprised to find Jacob calm and unmoved.

_"I know, Sam. And I think we can both agree that I always do what I think is best for myself and others around me…"_ Jacob challenged him nonetheless, knowing where he was going with the conversation.

Jacob's comment confirmed what Sam had begun to fear, something that he could see brewing behind everyone else's eyes before they left.

_"They want to stay.. isn't that what you've wanted all this time? To be a family? You can now, she wants to be with you, to stay here with you. They want to be apart of this, Jacob. They know now what it's like, they know what they're getting into by living here and being one of us, it's their decision is it not?"_

Sam and Leah may have had their problems once, but Talon and Hailey had done nothing wrong. They wanted more than anything to be home, and he was going to try as hard as he could to see it so.

_"No, it's my decision. And I don't want them here."_ Jacob's voice was void of anything even resembling emotion. He was blank, and thoughtless.

Sam stopped abruptly, Jacob doing the same a few feet ahead but never turning around.

_"You're lying. I know you want this more than anything, why the hell would you fight it?" _Sam felt himself, for the first time since the first year they were at war, getting frustrated with Jacob.

He knew he was scared, but that was no reason to punish them for it. Jacob, however, wasn't just going to leave it at that. He was going to make Sam see what he saw, and very vividly.

Before Sam could grasp what Jacob was doing, his head was filled with Jacob's memories. First, there was Leah. Their secret relationship, all their time together, how their relationship progressed, how much she meant to him. Then it flashed to when he had to leave, their last night together, their promises, their goodbye. Then, what surprised Sam the most, Jacob began running through all his memories of the war. Every single gory detail, some that threatened to bring tears to a long hardened Sam Uley. It showed the day Jacob almost died, the day he saved Sam's life. Then he showed Sam his most distinct memory of those four years. It was after he'd killed Nashoba's son, something that still ate away at him. He was only fifteen, and it was hard to think that you took away a child's life.

After he'd had the fight with Nashoba's pack members, he walked deep into the woods. Past their patrols, past their safe zones. Deep into nothingness where he lay down flat on his back, and gave up. He closed his eyes and allowed the severity of his wounds to take control, to burn through him and he refused to fight. He hadn't really wanted to get up, but then he dreamt of her. All night she was what he saw, and after that moment she was the only reason he even bothered to push on. He remembered his promise that he'd almost allowed himself to forget amongst the madness they lived in, and made sure he kept it.

Sam got images of the rest of their time there, of them running home, finding the house empty. Of Emily's face when she saw them for the first time, how upset she was and when she left. Of the barbeque when Leah brought Talon and Hailey, of her leaving again. And that was when it hit him. After she left, that was it. Jacob had given up all hope that he'd ever be happy. He always pretended that things would get better, that they'd come home and one day they'd all be together again. But he never really believed it. His heart was never in it after that. His day to day behavior was just that, a behavior. It wasn't him, he had no idea who he was anymore. Sam felt and saw everything from Jacob's point of view. When Leah started trying to fix things, when Nashoba and Tyrone began causing problems. That was when Sam started to understand. He saw Leah and Quil and Brady bloody on the floor, Rachel's face when she was trying to help Leah, Sue's broken features knowing they had Hailey. All their family members in pieces over and over again because of what their jobs entailed. Because of what they brought home with them everyday. It would never go away, because the threat was bigger than ever, and they were completely bound.

Suddenly the images flashed to the current day's events, of the twins having to fight and kill others like them, of how afraid they were when Jacob was fighting Nashoba. Of how close Nashoba had been to killing Talon. Then they all stopped.

_"Do you see now? Why they shouldn't be here, why they should go somewhere they can have a normal life? Why they deserve a life where they don't have to worry about being killed every five minutes? Am I really so wrong?"_ Jacob stared at Sam for a moment before turning back and trotting away.

Sam hadn't wanted to think Jacob was right about this one, that their families were better off without them. But he _was_ right. It was a lot like the expression _'facing your demons'. _They had all known deep down that they might have been better off never coming home, staying away from them and living normal lives. Maybe moving on and having normal families. But, of course, they didn't want to face it. Who would? It wasn't an easy thing; facing the fact that maybe your family was better off leaving you and all memories of you behind. The fear that the could so easily forget you when they were your whole world was something even the strongest of men would find heart wrenching. But, as hard as it was to admit, it may have been for the best. That's what they were all about right? Doing what's best for everyone. Even if that meant being miserable for all of eternity.

* * *

**a/n. I know what you're thinking; "oh my god this is like hella dramatic!!" (: Yes, it is. But I have a certain way I like to think of their situation had it happened this way. I mean Jacob was, what, seventeen when he went to war? He had to leave everything behind, and initially because of Leah's departure, came home to nothing. I think that I'm really trying to play on the feeling you get when you've really just had enough of something and reach that point where you cant deal anymore. That's where Jacob is at this point. I decided to take it deeper since this storyline gives so much to work with and I don't want to leave anything untouched. It's a broad storyline and it's hard to decide on one direction. (: Hope you enjoyed, it's a little shorter but I didn't want to overwhelm. Reviews=Love!**


	22. Alternative

Leah watched Carlisle carefully as he finished patching up Hailey's back. She knew it wasn't a terrible injury, but it still eased her stomach hearing Carlisle say it. She had tried several times to talk to her, but she refused. She said she'd talk to her when her father got there, when she knew he was alright. It didn't hurt Leah's feelings. She knew that Hailey and Talon were just upset, but she was just as frustrated with Jacob's attitude as they were. They hadn't done anything to him, they were the ones trying to be there for him. Yet he acted as if they were strangers, meaningless. Of course, she knew it wasn't that simple. It was just hurtful, and that was something she didn't deal with very well.

When Carlisle finished Hailey stood up and put her shirt back on, immediately moving to the kitchen and joining her brother at the table. Leah followed and took a seat beside Seth who seemed just as distant as the rest of them. Maybe they were upset about the way things played out, maybe it was fighting another war that had them shook up. Either way, she could tell they were all struggling. It was hard not knowing how to help, having nothing to offer that would make any sort of difference, being unable to understand any of what they were going through. It was almost like reversing rolls. Once, way back when, they couldn't understand her. They had no idea what she was going through or why she was so angry and bitter, none but Jacob. Now it was her that was unable, it was her that had to sit back and watch as they dealt with their silent demons alone. Now she knew what it was like, and it was difficult to deal with.

Even then, Jacob was there. He understood because he had been there with Bella, he filled her holes, and she filled his. They worked together and fixed themselves. But it was different now. She was the one who created his, and he'd created hers. How could she fix him when some she'd inflicted, and some she'd never understand? It was a realization that scared her because she wasn't sure she really knew him anymore, that she still held the same stature with him that she had before. Him walking away earlier without so much as a word sort of made that obvious, but she didn't want to believe it. They were starting over, and she wasn't just going to give up because he was having a rough time. She was going to do what she'd failed to do for him before, she was going to stay. She was going to be there and help him through as best she could, no matter what he said. He couldn't make her leave. He couldn't keep her away. She wasn't a child, she could make her own decisions.

She had lived a normal life, for thirteen years she'd lived like a human. Only phasing every once in a while for a run or amusement when bored. Never having to worry about vampires or other wolves, never fearing for her or her children's lives. They had a house and cars, cell phones and TVs, school fundraisers and sleepovers with friends. She had a steady, good paying job. She had friends and nights out with them, boyfriends and dates. It occurred to her then that her decision was fairly selfish. Jacob needed her, apparently more than he let on, and she left because she was angry. Really thinking on it, she wasn't sure that she was ever right being angry with him. He had always told her he hadn't meant to be gone so long, that he was just doing what he had to do to keep everyone safe. But she was only just believing him, only just taking it all into consideration and thinking hard on the fact that he'd been at war and she was at home. She may not have been completely safe, but they were constantly fighting. Never safe, not for any length of time.

She was only just thinking of how hard it must have been for all of them. Her brother, their brothers, for him. For her mother and Billy and Old Quil. For the pups that had only been phasing for a few months. She stared at the table as she went through all the thoughts she'd pushed away for so long. Until Hailey spoke anyways.

"They're here." She didn't avert her eyes or make any movements, nobody did. They all just sat and waited for the three remaining members to join them.

Leah heard the loud footsteps on the stairs and her heart began to pound, as the grumbling of the three men became clear she suddenly had the urge to flee the room. It wasn't like her, to want to avoid a confrontation, but Jacob still being in his strange mood was reasonably good cause for her anxiety. The back door opened and Sam entered first, holding one side of Embry's body, Jacob following right behind him with the other half.

"The bleeding is mostly from his stomach, but his neck is pretty fucked too." Jacob said sternly, he and Sam resting Embry in one of the glorious kitchen chairs.

"Edward!" Carlisle called in his charming and always comforting voice, Edward appearing seconds later. "Help me get him to the clinic."

With that, the two were gone. Leaving a very awkward and uncomfortable silence settled in between the remaining inhabitants. Leah peeked up at Jacob whose eyes were focused on Sam. They appeared to be having a conversation without really saying anything, and as quickly as she'd seen it, it was gone. The two separating, Sam to the living room, Jacob taking a seat in the chair positioned at the head of the table.

He sat there, silent, for a moment. Staring intently at the table. His eyes were much calmer than the last time she'd seen them, and his face seemed almost relaxed. Almost. He still had a strange look about him, one she couldn't for the life of her place. But overall he was much more inviting, not the angry and very hostile looking alpha from earlier.

Jacob cleared his throat and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and clasping his hands together under his chin. "Are you guys okay?"

She hadn't expected him to ask a question, she had honestly been expecting some sort of order or more news on what all was going on. Hailey obviously hadn't been either, but when he asked her eyes lit up immediately.

"I'm good, I had a cut on my back but that was it. Are you okay?" She questioned accusingly, taking in his appearance.

Leah hadn't really taken the time to look over his body, she was to engulfed with his face that was radiating so many different emotions. His muscles were barely visible under all the blood, some was his, some wasn't. His stomach had a very large gash overlapping one of his still distinct scars, his other wounds scattered all over his body. He was dirty, and sweaty. It was a sight, that was for sure. He seemed so rugged, so primal. His eyes had a certain gleam to them, his irises mostly black, dilated to almost the full extent. He was still excited, still pumped up.

"Me?" He snorted, putting a finger in his chest. "I'm always alright." He rolled his eyes and threw her a grin, directing his eyes then to Talon.

The closer he got to looking at her, the more nervous she became. She had no idea why, but he was putting off this certain scent. One that was alerting all her senses, one that was driving her insane. She wanted to run, to get away from him. But at the same time she couldn't move. Her eyes were glued to him and she felt her body temperature rising even more so than usual, the closer his eyes got to piercing into her the more her body went haywire. It was the craziest thing she'd ever experienced and had no idea what the problem was.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired." Talon answered honestly, pressing his palms tightly to his eyes and giving a goofy grin.

She could feel it more so than see it, his gaze shifting and moving to her. She felt herself tense, her body wanting so badly to move, but her eyes completely locked and unable to break free.

"And you?" Jacob caught her eyes with his, that fiery gaze piercing deep into her. She felt her heartbeat pick up, and could hear it pounding loudly inside her chest.

It was a little embarrassing, because she knew they could all hear it. Her blood flow was rushing at a fascinating pace, matching her heart beat for beat. She wouldn't dare look over at her kids, they probably thought she was having a heart attack, lord knows she did.

"I'm good.." Was all she could choke out, trying her best to sound normal. Failing of course.

Jacob noted her strange behavior, but he couldn't bring himself to ask. During their run to the Cullen's he'd formulated a plan, and he had to act on it before he changed his mind. He wanted to send them away, to push them away from him and the pack to avoid them being hurt. But he knew that would only hurt them, and that's something he wasn't able to do so easily. So he and Sam had come up with an alternative, something they would try before they made any rash decisions.

"Leah, can I speak to you outside for a minute?" Jacob asked while still staring at her, her face contorted in something resembling confusion. He didn't blame her, his mood swings were beginning to make him dizzy.

"Uh, sure." She stood up and pushed her chair under the table. He didn't wait for her, just moved quickly to the door.

"Good luck…" Talon said with a half laugh, looking at his mother with what she saw as fake sympathy.

"Bite me." Was her fairly snide return, only causing him and Hailey to bark out loud laughter.

She stopped at the door, her hand hovering over the knob. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to him, to find out what was going on with him and the rest of the guys, she was just afraid that it was going to be another fight. Leah didn't want to fight with him anymore, she wanted to help, not get angry and push him further away.

"Are you coming?" She heard him say from the porch, annoyance prominent in his voice.

She squeezed her eyes shut and reluctantly opened the door, spotting him sitting on the rail with his legs dangling over the edge of the porch. He was slouching and his hands were lying limp in his lap. His face was completely blank, his eyes fixated on the ground below him. Leah sighed and closed the door behind her as she slowly made her way to him, instead of taking a seat beside him she stood, placing her back against the rail.

"What's up?" She asked lightly, unsure of how the conversation was headed.

Jacob closed his eyes for a moment, ignoring everything else and focusing on the very comfortable breeze that had picked up over the past few minutes. Even with his eyes closed he could see the performance the trees were putting on, dancing wildly with the wind. He allowed himself to crack a small smile, then turned his head to Leah who was obviously uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry about earlier." Jacob stated calmly, always able to admit when he was wrong.

Leah turned her body completely to him, resting on her elbow. He was apologizing, she figured that was good, and it eased a lot of the pressure that had built in her head. Maybe he wasn't going to do what she had previously thought.

"It's alright, Jake. I would say I understand… but I'd be lying." She said slowly, watching his face carefully as she spoke. To her relief it didn't change, he just nodded when she was finished and turned back to the woods.

"I know…." He breathed, closing his eyes again. "It's just hard… with you guys here…" Jacob wasn't a fan of what he was doing.

He hadn't been a participant in sharing feelings for a very long time, but Sam had been right. If he didn't want their relationship to end up back where it was when they first arrived, he was going to have to suck it up and deal. Unlike when they first started, she seemed to want him to talk to her. She wanted him to tell her what was going on and be involved in his everyday. Sam had apparently picked up on what Jacob was thinking on the way over and they had discussed a system with which Jacob would be able to slowly give her what she wanted. He didn't have to tell her everything, not at first, just enough to keep her satisfied. Maybe it was unfavorable, but it was a step.

"Why?" She suddenly had a knot in her throat, afraid of where he was going. She and Jacob may not have been on wonderful terms for a long time but she thought they'd accomplished something during her stay. Something that would lead to giving the kids what they wanted, what she wanted.

"Because I worry about you. When you're here, you're always the target. You're who they want most because you're an easy way to get to me. It's just the way a lot of them work, and it scares me." Jacob pushed himself up with his arms, his muscles tensing and becoming very visible as he rose and hopped off of the rail, landing directly in front of her.

He was suddenly overcome with courage, the events from earlier in the day leaving a string of adrenaline that was apparently determined to be used. He couldn't complain, it was being put to good use.

Leah really wasn't sure what to say, he had taken her completely by surprise. She exited the house expecting the worst. Bad news, maybe some yelling and screaming, possibly a fight. Him trying to make her and the kids leave, telling them it was too dangerous. But he was talking to her about how he felt, and it was completely uncomfortable. An uncomfortable that she was overly thankful for.

"We have you. The pack. Plus, we're not exactly defenseless." Leah smiled warmly, his body's close proximity with hers making her senses go berserk.

"No, but things happen. We make mistakes…" He trailed off, thinking of his and Sam's conversation. "But you're right, you have us. And I'll never let anything happen to any of you."

Jacob smiled a true smile, allowing himself to inch closer to her until his folded arms were pressed against hers. He had a plan, and he wasn't going to act on his first option until he'd exhausted all his others. Until then, he was going to try his best to enjoy his time with them. Just in case it ended up being shorter than he'd hoped.

"Things are still fucked up right now with the packs, but I have an idea. The council probably wont like it, some of you might not because you wont be able to be involved…. But it's the only thing I can think of and we have to act on it within the next week." Jacob said looking directly at her, desperately wanting her to react.

He wanted her to show him something, give her approval. He needed someone to, because he was trying his hardest to convince himself it was the best thing to do.

"What is it?" She asked, intrigued. If it meant them staying, she was all for it.

She could see it then, that hidden pit behind his eyes screaming to surface. Leah knew what he had been thinking, knew what his first plan was. The very reason he was suddenly eager for her to talk with him about his current plan, one he was obviously unsure of. But she'd take what she could get, and support whatever he decided to do. As long as it meant her and the kids staying.

She wasn't sure when she became so devoted, so ruthlessly determined to stay put and be apart of what she once dreamed of getting away from. Maybe it was his reluctance, his uncertainty that fueled her desire. Whatever it was, she was dead set on making him see that he was wrong about them. That this was her home as much as it was his and that she was perfectly capable of being apart of it.

"After Embry is cleared I'm going to talk to everyone about it…" Jacob shifted uncomfortably, looking away briefly and returning his gaze to her with a much different expression. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Of course…"

"Just.., just back me, no matter what. Please. Because they aren't going to…."

He knew it was a long shot, and everyone was going to object first, ask questions later. But it was the only thing he could come up with. They had to do something, before they were the ones under attack again. The longer they waited the more time those other packs and vengeful pack members had to plan or make their way to them. So, he was going to finish it before it started. Weather the council liked it or not.

* * *

**a/n. A little short, a little uneventful. But I had to put this in here and the next part is going to be pretty long so I had to break it up. Just to let you know, the next two chapters or so are going to consist of a bit of downtime for the characters, more interactions and relationship type things going on. A lot of Blackwater and Talon and Hailey. Plus the other characters will be more involved when the plan is put on the table, the council and characters like Rachel and Emily involved more. Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think!**


	23. Plan

"Alright Jake, what's going on?" Sue asked as the entire pack along with their families and the Cullen's gathered in the large white living room.

Jacob had already explained everything to Leah so that it wouldn't come as a surprise when he informed the others. She was onboard. Mostly because once he'd begun to open up to her, it all came spilling out like some sort of dam had broken and he could no longer control his words. Which meant he'd confessed what would happen if "plan a" didn't work out. He was going to order them away.

At first she'd been furious. But once he explained and really went into detail on how he felt about the situation and how much pressure they were putting on him, she simmered back down. He took her by surprise by talking to her. And once he had, she'd been unable to break away from him. He was hooked again, and wasn't letting her go.

"I've decided what we're going to do about the other packs." Jacob said simply, standing at the head of the room, Leah by his side.

"Well I didn't think anyone had discussed it yet. I thought we'd take a little time to--"

Jacob wasn't ever one to interrupt an elder, usually that was to disrespectful for his standards, but he had to say his piece. He was the alpha after all.

"I know, but I just don't feel like we have a lot of time." He pulled in a deep breath, getting ready for the speech he was about to make.

He wasn't nervous, that wasn't a feeling he seemed to get anymore. But he knew it was going to cause conflict, and honestly, he was too tired to fight.

"Personally, I'm tired of fighting. And if there's any way to avoid doing it and still get what needs to be done, done, I'm going to do it. It just seems to me that with the level of hostility we're receiving from packs surrounding Nashoba's… I think that something needs to be done… permanently."

It seemed to Leah that they hadn't all really been sucked into what he was saying until the last part. All of the older pack members sitting up a little straighter sensing how serious the conversation was getting. Sam knew what was going on, but he paid attention just like everyone else, preparing to intervene with his support if needed.

"What are you suggesting?" Paul asked curiously, obviously ready to give his loyalty no matter what the plan was.

"We call a statewide meeting. First, we find out who our allies are. Once they're established, call all the packs throughout Washington in for an emergency gathering.. Once there, we give them an ultimatum. Anyone who hasn't agreed on the terms Jeremy and I have set out will have the chance to make their permanent choice. Either agree to our rules, or get out. I know it's harsh, trust me, if there were an easier way to be sure of peace I would do it. But I'm tired of constantly worrying about one of the northern packs killing someone. This way, we weed out those who pose a threat, and keep those who are willing to live civilly."

When he was finished Sue's jaw seemed to be on the floor. She obviously couldn't believe what he was suggesting, but it made sense. It was just avoiding a gigantic brawl that was the trick. Having all those different packs together in one place was very dangerous.

"Do you know how many people that will be in one place?" Sue asked skeptically.

"I thought about that." Jacob grinned, sensing her lack of hesitation. "I'll only call for the highest three in each pack. That way if something were to happen, it would be manageable."

Sue sat silent for a moment, thinking over their other options. She'd have to discuss it with Billy and Old Quil, but for the most part she agreed with him. It would permanently solve their problem, with the other packs at least. It was Old Quil that would give them trouble. It was a dangerous suggestion. He didn't like putting them in danger, though not going with it would probably be more hurtful in the long run.

"I'll discuss it with the others." Was all Sue said before rising and announcing her departure. Jacob took that as a good thing.

"So… top three, huh?" Paul grinned deviously, gaining Jacob's attention. "Who might your third be?"

Jacob knew he was going to want to go, but Jacob had already thought about it. He would have loved for Paul to join him, they had been through so much together and accomplished even more, but he had other plans. Ones that involved someone he'd been leaving out due to fear.

"Sorry Paul, I need you to stay here on this one." He said calmly, Paul's face immediately falling.

"Then who are you taking?" Jared asked, notably just as curious as Paul.

Jacob peeked over at Leah, whose face hadn't changed. She knew what he was doing, and she approved for the most part. It was a little nerve wracking, but she trusted him.

"Talon," Jacob turned his attention to his son who, for the most part, had been zoned out of the conversation. "I'd like you to come with me and Sam."

Talon's face immediately lit up when he digested what that meant. Jacob took that as confirmation and thought over what he and Leah had discussed on the porch, readying himself to address his daughter and two others.

"With that, I'd like to welcome four new members to our pack.."

Paul and the rest of them smiled, knowing who he was talking about. It wasn't that they hadn't wanted to allow Danny to join before, but Talon and Hailey's involvement with them over the past few weeks had really pushed them to get it over with.

"Now who in the world might that be??" Quil asked sarcastically, looking to the four teenagers posted at the other side of the room.

"You're serious? We'll be involved in everything from now on??" Hailey almost squeaked, clasping her hands together to avoid jittering from excitement.

"Yep, you're official." Jacob grinned, taking in all their expressions. They all seemed excited, accept for one.

"Alex, you don't have to. It's your choice." Jacob offered to the girl whose face had noticeably fallen over the past few minutes.

He knew she was going through a lot, her whole world had been turned even further upside down during all of the occurring events. Her father's people literally at war with her mother's. Her "stepfather" of sorts being killed. By his hand at that.

"I want to," She admitted, feeling a little awkward. "but what about my mother?"

Jacob sighed and looked over to Jared, motioning for him to take her outside and explain. He hated adding on to all that she was currently dealing with, but Anna had made herself very clear that night she ran off. They had to respect her wishes.

Jared stood and held his hand out to his daughter, leading her outside to talk privately. Jacob knew it wasn't going to fly well with the girl. It was her mother after all, but being involved with two packs came with an inevitable decision. You cant have both. Not in any situation.

"So, what happens now?" Talon changed the subject, respecting whatever privacy his girlfriend-of-sorts required.

"Sam and I will fill you in before the meeting on rules, regulations, blah, blah. Setting it up will take at least a week due to the distances some will be traveling, so until then, we just… chill." Jacob shrugged and looked over the people in the room, well, _beings_.

"What will you have us do?" Carlisle asked humbly, Emmett and the others nodding with apprehension.

"I'll keep you posted on what's going on. Hopefully this will end peacefully, but if not, we'll need your help." Jacob had thought about leaving them out of it, but he was still stuck on the _'we fought a war for you, you owe us' _sort of thing.

"Whatever you need, just let us know."

With that, Jacob decided it was time to go. He sent the pups and most of the others home, waiting only on Embry to be cleared for the move.

After the house was pretty much cleared, Leah and Jacob sat patiently in the kitchen for Carlisle to finish.

"You talked to Renesmee?" Jacob asked randomly, remembering what his sister had told him about the small girl and Leah once being very close.

"Nah, not yet. I haven't really seen her." Leah said calmly, not wanting to let off that anxious feeling she got when Renesmee's name was mentioned.

It wasn't that she didn't want to see her, she'd thought of her everyday since she left her with Rachel. But the fear that she held some sort of resentment towards her for leaving, or anger for not taking her with them, scared her. She hadn't even seen her since then, seen her adult form, her as a grown up. It was frightening. She wanted to remember that little girl with bronzed hair and bright hazel eyes. The girl that wanted to be like her at one point. The girl that helped her get through their time without their loved ones. Not an angry adult holding an ancient grudge against her.

"Maybe you should, before we leave. We don't see them that often anymore…" Jacob peeked up at her from under his lashes. "…there's really no need for us to. She's asked about you before, I'm sure she'd want to see you."

Jacob seemed to have sensed whatever strange fear she held about the girl, so he tried his best to encourage her. Though that wasn't exactly his cup of tea. He surely wasn't an emotion guru and really didn't feel he should be giving advice on it.

Leah shifted uncomfortably, peeking around the corner to see who was in the other room.

"She's upstairs." Jacob answered her unasked question.

Leah's head snapped to him, her face contorted with confusion.

"How are you doing that?" She leaned forward, closer to him.

"What?" He smiled, meeting her halfway across the table. "Reading your mind?" He chortled, his expression the lightest she'd seen it in days.

Leah pulled her head back, still completely lost. "Can you?"

Jacob laughed loudly at her, then. "No, I just know you. Better than you think, I imagine."

He wasn't really sure how he'd known what she was thinking, his little explanation was completely false. He just wanted her to get on with finding Renesmee and fixing whatever it was she wanted to fix. To be sure she wasn't angry with her for whatever reason.

"Hmm." Leah eyed him suspiciously, leaning back in her chair before standing. "I guess I should get it over with, huh?"

Jacob nodded and gave her one last smile before she turned to leave. He really didn't understand her need to be sure she was on good terms with the hybrid. Maybe it was his strong resentment towards the Cullen's for everything they caused and whatnot. Maybe it was that he'd noticeably separated himself from them throughout their time home. Whatever it was he'd hide it so that she could get whatever peace she was trying to find.

* * *

Leah stood awkwardly outside of Renesmee's bedroom door. It was shut, and locked. She really didn't want to knock, it was really more her style to just barge in unannounced. She felt more comfortable that way, as messed up as it may have been. After hearing Carlisle finishing up on Embry and really not wanting to be the one to hold them up, she went ahead and gave two strong knocks.

"Who is it?" A beautiful bell chimed through the door, the sound so familiar.

"Leah." She said simply, not wanting to sound as uncomfortable as she felt.

She heard shuffling and then footsteps, then the door opened revealing a five foot four model. Well, that's what she reminded Leah of. Her hair was long, to her back, and in perfect waves. Some were spirals, some were loose, all mixing and forming a gorgeous cascade all around her. Her eyes were just as Leah remembered, the same golden brown as the rest of them. But hers were special, warmer almost. Her skin wasn't as pale, a light peachy color that was more human than her mother's even when she _was_ a human. Her features were all sculpted perfectly, a mix of Edward and Bella to the extreme. Her body was enviable, not by Leah, or even Alex or Hailey. But to a mere human she would have been god-like.

"Hey, Leah." Renesmee smiled. "It's so nice to see you."

Leah wasn't sure what to say. _'Hi'_ would have sufficed, or a simple _'how are you'_. But she was speechless.

"Are you alright?" Renesmee pushed, her eyes shifting showing slight tints of worry.

"Oh, uh, yeah." Leah shook her head and smiled. "Sorry. I'm just… it's good to see you too. I see you kept your hair long."

They both laughed lightly at the memory, the tiny hint of sadness clearly visible in the young woman's eyes. "Yeah, I told you I would."

They stood for a moment, taking in each other's appearances. Leah was exactly how Renesmee had remembered her, only one noticeable difference. That stone shell she'd once worn so gracefully was gone. Replaced with a sense of openness, trust maybe. Something that had seemed to forever be disregarded by the she wolf.

"I don't really have much time," Leah began. "I just wanted to be sure that we were okay. I know it sounds silly, it's been so long. I just… wanted you to understand that I didn't want to leave you. It was just one of many things that had to be done… none of us wanted any of it…" Leah explained as best she could, surprised she'd done as well as she had.

Renesmee smiled weakly, flicking her eyes to the floor. "I know." She took in a deep breath. "I hated you for a while… for leaving me. I trusted you. But after everything, and after coming home and hearing that you weren't staying. I understood. You were angry, just like the rest of us. But you had it worse, and I cant imagine what it must have been like to be alone for so long. With us, with your kids. I just wish that I could have seen you before now, that we could have picked up where we left off sort of…"

Leah's chest contracted. It hurt seeing her again, reminding her of everything she wanted to forget. But in a way it felt sort of like closure. Like she was slowly fixing everything in her life and creating a new one. A new one with everyone she'd once cared about, even Renesmee.

"Thank you." Leah inched forward a bit, thinking of giving her a hug. "Really, you don't know what it means to me to hear you say that."

Renesmee smiled a very large and grateful smile, accepting the silent hug Leah offered.

"I know you have to go, I can hear them waiting." Renesmee giggled. "We'll pick a day and catch up, let's not be strangers?"

Leah nodded, sniffing back the invisible tears she felt approaching. "Of course, that sounds great."

As she bounded down the stairs to meet Jacob and Embry, she couldn't help but smile. She felt as if she were accomplishing something slowly, but surely. All she had left was to finish what she'd started with Jacob. Talk through whatever they had left and get past it. And maybe rekindle the closeness she once held with Clair and Danny, who knows.

* * *

a/n. I had to cut this one in half. The next chapter is mostly character interaction so I didn't want to start it at the end of this one. So there's the plan, and Renesmee reintroduced. Hope you liked. (: Reviews please!!


	24. Change

Her eyes shot open with all the urgency she felt. She could feel the sweat running down her brow, a small drop falling into her eye. Her hair was matted and her clothes clung to her, the covers had been shoved off at some point during her restless sleep. She plopped onto her back from her elbows, panting and desperately trying to ease her speeding heart. She thought she'd been rid of her nightmares long ago, her change in location and settlement of things with her family had disposed of them when the twins were about six. But she found herself having one of the worst ones she'd had since her dad died, edging her to tears.

Leah was alone in the large king sized bed, all the surrounding pillows and sheets ruffled messes. The room was cold and comfortable as usual, dark and inviting. She peeked at the clock, two thirty in the morning. Leah knew she'd be unable to go right back to sleep, so she stood and shuffled to the bathroom. Her appearance was less than appealing, to her anyway. The sloppy bun she'd gone to sleep in was on the side of her head, all the strands from the other strung around her neck and wet with sweat. She didn't bother to fix it, nor did she bother to change her damp tank or shorts.

After splashing a few handfuls of cold water on her face she left the room and crept down the stairs. Rounding the corner, she had to stifle a scream when face planting into a familiar broad chest.

"Jesus Jacob!" Leah breathed, resting her forehead in between his pecs. "You scared the shit out of me."

Jacob instinctually wrapped his arms around her waist, allowing her to bare all of her weight on him.

"Bad dream?" He whispered above her ear, her sticky scent giving her away.

He remembered a time when she had nightmares every night, her same disheveled and damp condition with each one. That was one of the main reasons he started staying the night with her. She admitted once that when he was with her, they weren't as bad, that his presence seemed to chase them away. He was with her every night from that point forward.

"Yeah," She closed her eyes and curled into him, digging her head into the crook of his neck. "I haven't had one in so long. It took me by surprise."

"Come on," Jacob took her hand and began leading her back up the stairs. "let's get you back in bed. It's late."

She followed obediently, his words reminding her that she'd been alone when she woke. He led her into the bedroom and closed the door behind them, following her to the bed and flopping down on his side. They dispersed the covers between themselves and Leah curled back into him, twining their legs and allowing his arms to surround her. After they were settled and comfortable, she broke the peaceful silence they'd created.

"I didn't hear you get up."

She readjusted her head so that she could see him, his features still clear to her even through the very deep darkness. He shut his eyes when she asked, a small smirk playing on his lips.

"I decided to patrol for a while. I was really just coming back to check on you guys before going out again."

"Are the kids sleeping?"

Leah had forgotten to check on them after running into Jacob. She couldn't bring herself to worry about them though, she knew that all the others were patrolling ruthlessly around Jacob and Sam's houses.

"Yep. They're both fine." Jacob brushed her hair away from her face softly, tracing his hand through her hair and massaging lightly.

"You don't have to stay, if you need to go back out it's fine. I'll be alright."

Leah had to fight that selfish flare in her stomach. She didn't want him to leave. She wanted all patrols to stop and for him to be home with them always, but she knew it didn't work that way. She'd slowly accepted that it was his job, it was what he was born to do. His birthright. He couldn't change it just because she wanted him to, she knew that. But she couldn't help that small tinge of resentment towards their elders for making it him.

"Nah, they'll be alright. I wasn't supposed to be out anyway, I just couldn't sleep. I'll stay this time, I promise."

Jacob peeked at her and grinned, a little relieved that she'd been up. He was tired. Insanely tired. He just couldn't force himself to go to sleep when they first laid down. He joined Seth, Sam and Paul on the circuits for a while, checking on Leah and the twins frequently. They didn't find anything out of order, and he really hadn't expected them to, but he was all for the better safe then sorry concept.

"What was your dream about?" He had meant to ask when they first laid down, but she'd sidetracked him.

Leah dug her head into his neck, tightening her hold on him. "I cant remember most of it. The pieces I do remember are hazy…"

He nodded and rolled so that he was on top of her, peppering kisses across her cheeks and down her neck. Attempting to lighten her mood. She began laughing fairly loudly as he continued and began tickling her sides, pulling her shirt over her head and kissing all of the exposed skin.

"What are you doing??" She choked out, still laughing.

"Be quiet!" Jacob swallowed his own laughter and put a hand over her mouth, his silent chuckles shaking both of them. "You're gonna wake them up!"

"You're tickling me!" She managed out through the breathless giggles he was causing.

He moved down her chest to her stomach and began blowing raspberries all over her bare skin. It was childish and silly, but it had her laughing. That's what he was aiming for from the start. It felt good, just being calm and goofy with her again. No more tension seemed to remain, no more hard feelings. Though they were probably dormant somewhere in both of them, they weren't causing anymore trouble.

The raspberries had increased her laughter ten fold and she was now almost screaming. Just as Jacob had suspected, about ten seconds after she got louder, there was a knock at the door.

"Yeah?" He answered breathlessly, still half laughing.

The door opened and Talon entered, a brow raised in suspicion. Jacob stayed hovered over her, hiding the fact that she had no shirt on.

"What are ya'll doing?" He folded his arms and smirked, obviously amused.

"Playing…?"

"At almost three in the morning?"

Jacob chuckled and nodded his head, his smile the realest he'd had in a while, reaching his eyes. Talon shook his head and made a clicking sound with his tongue.

"Right.." He started backing out of the room. "just keep it down mom, it sounded like someone was killing you."

When the door shut they couldn't help but continue the thunderous laughter. They weren't even sure they knew what they were laughing at anymore, their moods had just been shifted to a place they hadn't been to in quite a while. After they finished their little episode they ventured into another territory completely, reaching the early hours of the morning before finally deciding to go to sleep. They didn't have anything to do anyway, they had a week before they had to worry about anything and were completely content with just relaxing for once.

XXXX

"What are you doing?" Alex raised her brows at Talon's suspended form, standing with her arms folded under the tree he was hanging from.

"Uh, getting grandma's purse…" He smiled sheepishly and shrugged before lifting himself on the next limb and attempting to reach the dangling bag.

"How exactly did it get up there?"

Hailey came out from behind the tree, a large bruise formed on the side of her face. She looked fairly pissed, so Alex refrained from asking. Watching the two of them, she could tell they'd been fighting. What it could possibly be about, she had no idea. But with the two of them you never know.

"He's an idiot! That's how!" Hailey sneered, watching her brother as he maneuvered around in the tree.

He finally got it, losing his grip on the limb when he did and falling to the ground. He landed with a loud thud, earning loud laughs from both girls.

"Talon!!" Sue appeared in the back door, scowling. "Did you get my purse!?"

"Yes, ma'am." He groaned and rolled to his feet, picking it up and running over to her.

"Do I even want to ask?" Alex turned to Hailey who still seemed to be fuming.

"Talon and Danny decided it would be funny to play some sort of oversized keep away with my purse. Danny ended up hitting me in the face with it, Talon threw it in that tree."

Hailey explained, sounding more bored with it than anything. "I thought it was Sue's?"

"Like I said, he's an idiot."

Both girls laughed before joining Talon in the kitchen. Hailey followed Sue into the living room so she could attempt to decrease the swelling in her eye, giving Talon the meanest look she could muster up on the way by.

"She's pretty mad at you, ya know?" Alex sat down in the chair beside him, laying her legs across his lap while he began eating a bowl of soup.

"I know. I'll apologize later." He said blankly through a mouthful of food.

"Why later?"

"Because she's pissed right now. You cant apologize to her when she's pissed. It just turns into another fight."

Talon hadn't asked her about her mother, or what she and Jared had discussed at the Cullen's. But it was slowly eating away at him. He wanted to know if she was leaving, if her mother was coming to get her, if she was going to be apart of their pack. He couldn't stand waiting for her to talk to him about it.

"So are you staying here?" As hard as he'd tried to stay silent on the subject, his curiosity ended up getting the better of him.

Alex rolled her eyes and smirked. "Yes, I'm staying. My mother ditched me here if you must know."

He immediately regretted saying anything. He didn't want to get into a deep discussion about her family or why her mom was the way she was, how she felt about it. He'd had enough of confusing and complicated stuff for a while, until he went with his dad and Sam to the meeting, he didn't want to deal with anymore. But it's not like he could up and tell her that, he figured it'd be the tiniest bit offensive.

"I'm sorry.", was his genuine answer. He honestly was, and didn't want to see her hurt or upset…. He just didn't want to talk about it either.

"Eh, it's not your fault." She shrugged and dug her toes under his leg in the seat. "I'm gonna tell Jacob I want to join the pack whenever him and your mom get up."

Talon groaned and rolled his eyes. "Ugh, they've been in bed all day. They woke me up last night laughing and junk."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Alex giggled, finding Leah and Jacob pretty adorable.

"Yeah, I guess." He laughed. "I haven't heard her laugh like that in forever."

She could see him pondering over his parent's situation. He had done it a lot since their arrival, always hoping they'd break ground and just make up. Now they have, and the relief in him is more than noticeable.

"You excited about going with Jake and Sam?" Alex watched as his expression changed completely, his features crumpling as he shrugged his shoulders.

"I am, but I'm a little nervous I guess. I don't know to much about all this, I've been phasing since I was three but I've never really been involved with the pack. Dad didn't like us being to into it when we were younger."

She nodded as he spoke, his situation being completely different then hers. She had been involved with her father's pack from the moment she phased. Always running patrols and keeping an eye out. Alex could respect the fact that he was nervous, it was all so new to him, so different. But she knew Jacob would have him prepared. Of all the alphas she'd ever met, being most of the ones in Washington due to her father's connections, Jacob was her favorite. He did things for his pack, for his people, not for himself. He always put his family first. That was her definition of a true alpha, and she was glad she could finally be with her father in a place she could be happy.

"He'll teach you everything before you go. He obviously trusts you, right? This is a big deal, he wouldn't let you go if he didn't."

Alex sat up and hooked her arm in his, resting her head on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, you'll do fine."

Talon sighed and sat back in his seat, resting his head on hers. "I hope so."

XXXXX

The four honestly couldn't pinpoint when they were more frightened. When Sue had told them to meet at Jacob's because he needed to talk to them, or when the entire pack was summoned with them. Having them all together with Jacob at the head of the room, his "alpha face" on, never meant anything good. Well, not most of the time anyways.

"You four realize that with joining this pack, you all gain certain responsibilities?" Jacob's voice was firm, causing Alex and Hailey to cringe.

They nodded, unsure of where the conversation was headed. Leah stood to the side with Sam, an amused expression present. All the other pack members mimicking hers for the most part. The teens looked quite frightened.

"Your job, just like all of us, is to protect our home and everyone in it. It's a huge responsibility and one you cant take lightly. You can still have fun, go on dates, to the movies, to your friend's houses, but when you're with us, or when you're carrying out an order from one of us, you're not a kid anymore."

Jacob took in their expressions, trying to feel weather they were taking it seriously or not. It was serious, no doubt. It was what he'd lived his life by since the day he joined the pack, since the first time Sam gave him _his _speech. But things had changed since Sam's reign. Jacob had broken nearly all the rules when he chose to protect Bella and her half vampire child, when he was willing to fight Sam and his brother's to protect them. They were different now, and they had different values. But the basis was the same.

"You have the choice to change your mind. Because once you're in, you're in for life. You cant change what you are, but I wont make you live this way. We've all been through war, killed vampires, killed shape shifters, humans. All of us know that our families, and our people's safety is number one priority. If you are unable to lay your own life down to protect them, then you don't need to join."

Hailey was excited, Alex was apprehensive, Danny was relieved, and Talon was completely captivated. It's what he'd been waiting for, what he'd wanted for so long. To do what his dad did, to live like them, to be apart of something bigger. Now they were sitting in his dad's living room, getting the speech he was sure all new members got. Jacob radiating authority at the head of the room, with all his brothers sitting around him all their attention turned to the newest members.

"Are we all clear on that? You all agree?"

The four nodded quickly, keeping their attentions locked on him.

"There are rules, just like in most everything else." Jacob began. "A fellow alpha, Jeremy, and myself came up with these rules after the war in order to live peacefully with other packs. We don't cross borders without permission, we don't associate ourselves with other packs without need, we don't allow relationships between pack members from different packs in the case of a female in the area, we don't allow transitions from one pack to another, there's absolutely NO antagonizing hostility between packs. Those are the basics. Talon, I'll explain the rest to you when we leave for the meeting.--"

Hailey suddenly spoke up.

"If you don't allow relations between pack members of different packs, why did you allow Talon and Alex?"

Talon turned and glared at his sister, he knew she was still mad at him, but that was a bit of a cheap shot. "Nice, Hailey."

She smirked at him and turned back to Jacob for the answer. He was smiling that huge gleaming smile he had only recently reacquired. Obviously amused with her little call.

"Well, technically, Alex never belonged in Tyrone's pack. Jared is her father, her wolf gene comes from us. She was always meant to be apart of our pack. Which is why she was also able to go from a member of their pack, to ours."

Hailey nodded and continued to smirk, noting all the small chuckles and comments the others were making. Talon's face being an unnamable shade of red.

"Okay, you guys get the gist of what I'm saying? You understand what you're getting into, what you're agreeing to?"

"Yeah." They all four said in unison.

"Good, we have a surprise for you then."

Jacob motioned for them to follow him, the pack that had gathered in the living room all standing to go ahead of him. The four teens stayed close to Jacob as they moved through the kitchen behind the large crowd of men and out the back door.

The back yard was completely black, all the yard and porch lights out. The pack dispersed into the yard, disappearing from site.

"We just wanted to welcome you to the family, something we've never done for any other pack members. But you're a new generation. Females, twins, pure bloods… something completely different. Glad to have you on board."

Jacob smiled brightly one more time before moving to the far end of the porch and flipping a switch. With one loud click the whole yard lit up. Bright streams of multicolored lights were hung around a bunch of tables, most covered with food, drinks, plates, utensils. There were colorful streamers and table cloths, balloons and stupid little tiki torches. There was music and everyone was there. All the pack members, their families, some of their friends, and Alex's mother. Leah walked up the steps and hugged Talon and Hailey, extending her hugs to Alex and Danny. The twins and Danny moved into the yard to hug everyone and get their congratulations, but Alex stayed on the porch.

After seeing her mother, the tears automatically accumulated. Jacob was still standing over by the power box that was fueling their little get together, checking to be sure it wasn't going to explode under the pressure. She slowly made her way to him, unsure of how to approach him. They weren't exactly close, she'd always thought he'd see her as the enemy, living with another pack for so long. He'd disapproved of her situation at first, and had forbid her to come until Jared talked him into it somehow. But here he was, welcoming her to his pack, throwing them a party, and inviting her mother. She reached him and tapped his shoulder.

"I, uh,…" Alex stuttered, trying to blink back the tears that were building. "wanted to say thank you. For all of this…. And for, uh, finding my mom for me…"

Jacob smiled reassuringly, pleased with how the night was turning out. "It's a big night for you, she needed to be here. There's no reason she shouldn't be. You're family, you always have been, and you deserve to have both parents here to support you."

A single tear fell, racing quickly down her cheek. Jacob sighed and wiped the trail away, pulling her into a tight hug.

"You mean a lot to all of us, despite who your mother is and where you've been most of your life. I'm sorry if we've ever made you feel different. You belong here, just like Talon, Hailey and Danny. Don't ever think you're any different than them."

Alex let a small sob escape into his chest before gathering herself. She squeezed Jacob tightly for a moment, appreciating the comfort he provided.

He released and took her face in his hands, "Go have fun. You don't have to worry about anything anymore."

Alex wiped away her remaining tears and smiled, nodding her head and running to join the others. Jacob turned his attention back to what he was doing, soon becoming satisfied with the system they had worked out. He felt Jared approaching, just as he'd assumed he would.

"Thank you, Jacob."

"S'what I'm here for." Jacob turned to him and smiled, patting him on the shoulder as he ushered him to the steps.

"I know but--"

"Look, I understand that things haven't always been sunshine and rainbows, I'm sure it cant ever be perfect…. But I'm finished being unhappy. And I'm finished watching you all be unhappy."

Jacob pushed him towards the stairs and followed him down, joining the rest of their family and friends. He found Leah and they watched on as their kids joked and played around with the others. Eventually, a slow song came on, and the twins insisted on the two sharing it.

"No, no, no!" Leah laughed, pulling away from Talon. "I don't want to dance!"

"Come on daddy!" Hailey pleaded. "Make her dance with you!"

Leah shook her head violently when Jacob approached her, smiling deviously. "Just do it."

Jacob held his hand out, Leah unable to refuse it. He led her to their unofficial dance floor and wrapped his hands around her waist, she followed suit and hugged his neck tightly. They swayed back and forth together, nuzzled into one another. Him in her hair, her in his neck, their bodies pulled as close as possible. She pulled her head up and made eye contact, pressing her forehead against his.

"This is pretty nice." She grinned, peeking around at their little party. "I wish it could be like this all the time."

Jacob kissed her lips, pulling his hands from his waist to cup her face. "It will be. Someday, I promise."

"I love you." She breathed into his lips, closing her eyes.

He kissed her again, moving his hands back to her waist and squeezing her tightly. "I love you too."

XXXXXXX

a/n. More of the twins and Alex in this one. Like I said, they have some down time so it will be a lot of character interactions up until the meeting. Hope you liked. (: Reviews PLEASE! Sorry about the X's, the breaks aren't showing up for some reason.


	25. Keegan

"Are you two gonna be alright while we're gone?" Jacob stood with his arms folded and brows raised, eyeing the two teenage girls carefully.

"Yes, dad." Hailey rolled her eyes and shot him a grin, elbowing her friend to agree.

Alex chuckled, but nodded. They were going to be alone with a heap of overgrown kids for an entire week, she couldn't say that was the most comfortable feeling in the world. She and Hailey were far from mature, and far from capable of taking care of themselves. That much she could admit with no problem.

"We'll be fine. How long will Leah be gone?"

"She said she should be back before us, but she wasn't completely sure. She has to take care of some things with her job and start the paperwork to sell the house."

Hailey's eyes just about popped out of her head. She knew her parents were getting along, but she didn't know that they had already decided on selling the house. Selling the house meant that they were for sure moving to La Push, and her mother had refused to talk about it with them for the majority of their visit.

"So what, we're staying for good?"

Jacob thought over his next words very carefully. Leah would be pissed if he told Hailey without her, it was supposed to be a surprise. But after standing under his daughter's pleading gaze for all of ten seconds, he was sunk.

"Don't tell your mom I told you." Jacob said seriously. "It's supposed to be a surprise. But yes, you guys are moving here."

"Is mom gonna rent a house or stay with grandma or--"

"You guys are moving in with me." Jacob responded, trying his best to contain the gigantic grin lingering on his lips.

He was just as excited about the decision as Hailey obviously was, and notably just as surprised. He never in a million years thought that Leah would be the one to suggest it, she had been so hesitant about everything up until then. But he was happy all the same. They'd reached a new level of comfortable after spending so much time together over the past week. Due to Hailey and Talon's stay-away-from-us-we're-almost-grown attitudes, they had ample time to get past all the lingering thorns. After the surprise party for the kids, things were verging on perfect. Jacob only hoped that the meeting wasn't going to be the end of that peace.

"I knew she'd cave eventually." Hailey said smugly, folding her arms and smiling as brightly as possible. "I'm glad she finally came to her senses. Now we can be like this all the time."

Jacob nodded and shushed her once he saw Leah and Talon approaching. He didn't have to hear what she was saying to see that she was worried about Talon going with him. She was pointing her finger and had her overly serious face firmly planted. It was sort of funny seeing her do it to someone twice her size, but thinking hard about it, she'd done that to them for as long as he could remember. It was almost hilarious thinking of her doing it to him now. She quickly turned her attention from Talon to Hailey once spotting her.

"Alright, Hay, I should be back before them but I cant say for sure. Your grandma is going with me, but Billy and Old Quil will be around if you need them. Emily and Rachel are just up the road if you need food or anything and Kim is gonna check on you every few days so d--"

"MOM! We know!" Hailey scoffed, clinging tightly to Jacob's side.

Leah rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Shut up. Just call me once a day and let me know that you're okay. And please….. At least TRY to behave."

Leah said her goodbyes to everyone, returning to her kids about three times, then finally made her way to the car. Sue was waiting patiently in the passenger's seat, obviously excited about visiting her daughter's other home. Seeing where they lived, their school, their neighborhood. She couldn't deny that she was always curious, but Leah refused to let anyone visit. She always wanted to come to La Push for holidays and vacations, nobody ever questioned why.

Jacob followed Leah obediently to the driver's side, grinning widely the whole way. "You miss me yet?"

Leah turned to face him, her body quickly yanked into a hug before she could respond. The truth was, yes, she did. It was sick how far she'd been sucked back in in such a short period of time, but it was undeniable. She pulled away and took a good look at him, regretful that she'd be away from him for an entire week. She probably wouldn't even be able to talk to him on the phone. Their meeting wasn't predicted to be a friendly one.

"Yeah right." Leah scoffed playfully. "I have an entire week to do whatever I want and pretend that I didn't just get sucked into a committed relationship."

"Uh huh, go ahead and try to find someone as sexy as I am in Bay City." He shot back. "You've been unsuccessful for this long, I'm not to worried about it now."

"Very funny."

Leah rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around him, both excited and nervous about leaving. She was, of course, more than glad to get the house on the market and start the moving process. But it was leaving that was the scary part. Maybe it was childish, maybe she was just being silly, but leaving held that same sense of dread that it had every other time she'd had to head back to her "normal" life in the city. The meeting was sort of what held her fate in the balance. Well, her families fate. If something went wrong, something that would pose an immediate threat, Jacob was going to make them leave. She might have thought that because he was pushing for her to go ahead and get things moving with the house that he was just talking shit, but she knew he was serious. His face was nothing short of honest when he was talking to her about it, and she could only hope that things worked in her favor. For once.

"I'll see you in a week." Jacob cupped her face and kissed her roughly, tasting every bit he could before he had to go.

"Be safe." She stole one more kiss before pulling away, noting her son's approach. "..and take care of my _baby_!"

Talon grunted loudly, shoving her playfully before wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry, mom. I will."

Jacob matched Talon's grunt ten fold, throwing his head back with laughter. "You wish."

Talon allowed one more hug before Leah was shoved in the car and made to leave. He and Jacob stood side by side for a moment, watching the car's shrinking figure. Neither were worried about her, she was headed away from all the problems of their abnormal world. They were more worried about themselves, headed deeper into it. Jacob didn't have any high hopes or unrealistic expectations about how things were going to go. Sure, he hoped that they could all get along somehow and come to some sort of agreement. But it wasn't likely. None of the other packs were famous or in any way known for their negotiating abilities. Jacob and Jeremy seemed to be the only sensible ones. And even Jeremy's pack lived like rabid animals.

During their first year or so as a pack, Sam and the council always stressed how important it was for them to remain as human as possible. At first, Jacob had no idea what they meant by that. They all seemed to be mostly the same, add a hot temper and overbearing alter ego sort of thing. It hadn't occurred to any of them back then that there were others like them, that their council had taken their lives into consideration even through the responsibilities they acquired with phasing. When they went to war, everything became very clear to them. The other packs were so very different, none of them seeming to be all there. The alphas were the only ones with what resembled common sense, the rest just followed whatever lead they were given. It was something they all acquired living the way they were, almost forgetting who they were completely. They were gone for so long, submerged in some sort of figurative alternate universe where all they had to do everyday was kill vampires and whatever little minions they threw at them. It was bound to take a toll. But they were taught by others like them to push away all normal thoughts, to just be. Of course, it seemed stupid at that time, but they quickly found out that it was overly effective and was probably the only thing that kept them all sane.

While away, Jeremy and Jacob grew fairly close. Almost friends-of-sorts. Jacob could relate to him because out of everyone else, he seemed to be the most like him. They kept everyone under control and Jeremy seemed to have the same goals and hopes of getting everyone home safely that Jacob did. It wasn't until a few years after returning home that Jacob realized just how different they were. They had already come up with the "rules" and had somewhat kept that odd bond they shared, so Jacob decided to pay him a visit, see what his home was like. Upon entering the village, Jacob was immediately aware of several differences. It only took a few days there to drive him to reassess any similarities he'd once thought they'd shared. Jeremy was nothing like him. He was just another cutthroat alpha looking after himself and his. He didn't care about anyone else, but in the conditions they were living in during the war, the mistake of one could cost five or six. Leaving him no other option but to help Jacob in keeping everyone somewhat at ease.

Jeremy's pack wasn't allowed to live in the village with their friends or families. They were denied even their imprints until breeding was necessary. Living on the outskirts and borders, they did nothing but patrol and watch out for one another. Some were privileged enough to do out-of-state details, some were allowed to converse with other packs to keep peace, but everyone else ran the same patrols on the same circuits day after day. They were all provided with small cabins equally spaced out from one another, no TV, none of those everyday goodies the others lived with, just pack. It was if anything close to the way Nashoba and his people lived, the only difference being the pack members were the only ones missing out. It wasn't fair, and it wasn't the way the La Push council had raised their shape shifters. They wanted all of them to have the closest thing to a normal live they could possibly manage, and all the humanity that came with it. Even if in reality, they were far from human.

Jacob blinked all the thoughts from his head quickly, turning and slapping Talon on the back a few times. "you ready to head out?"

Talon nodded immediately. "Whenever you are."

"The sooner the better," Jacob grabbed him in a loose headlock as they walked up the sidewalk. "lets get going."

Sam was seated at the kitchen table, waiting patiently for Jacob and his son. Emily was seated in his lap, her legs hung properly over his legs, arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Jacob always felt a little bad asking Sam to go with him, constantly taking him away from her. Emily wanted a family, she wanted to start having kids, she wanted to raise little wolf babies and be surrounded by them constantly. She wanted that fairly tale family and story book kind of life for herself, the love of her life, and her children. But Sam didn't. He was a very reality based sort of man. Well, a _their _reality based sort of man. He knew all the twists and turns their worlds could take, all the dangers they were constantly faced with. They all did. Everyone already worried so much about Danny, Clair, Talon and Hailey, they didn't want the same dangers to face a small baby. It was all precisely why Jacob _did_ always ask Sam to come, he needed that time away from her to prepare himself for the next family ridden assault she'd have prepared for him when he returned. Without those small breaks, he wasn't sure he'd make it with her. Imprint or not, a man can only take so much.

Imprints had their limits too, he was sure. They all had their issues with pack life, and they were never shy with expressing them. Rachel wished Jacob would take Paul more due to his uncontrollable obnoxiousness, Kim wished Jacob could go back in time and keep Jared away from Ana, Emily wished he'd leave Sam from time to time, and Clair just wished they were normal. He knew it was just as hard for them, he just forgot it most of the time trying to deal with his own underlying issues. He was sure they all wanted more children; Emily, Rachel, Kim, hell maybe even Leah. But they were afraid to even mention it anymore. It was sort of sad thinking of how much they'd all given up, how much they'd all lost and been through. It wasn't addressed as often because they always tried to keep their smiles firmly intact, but Jacob knew it was there. They had plenty of time, and they were all very aware of that but it didn't make the now any easier. The legends had been so very wrong about a good many things, things that none of them had noticed until one day, twelve or thirteen years after it all happened that they noticed imprints weren't aging either.

The council members remained the same as they were when Sam first phased, and the imprints aside from Clair were all exactly how they were when first imprinted on. They could only figure that Clair would stop aging once she reached full maturity, but they couldn't be completely sure. Everything was so different from when they first started that they weren't sure what to believe anymore and if anything was truly impossible. The imprints and council members weren't any stronger or any faster, they didn't heal rapidly when they were hurt, they could still die just like any other human, they just didn't get any older. They were solely connected to their wolves for life. As long as their wolf was alive, so were they. It was something that had hit everyone really hard, realizing just how inhuman their lives really were.

"Alright, let's head on out.." Jacob said to Sam indirectly.

He moved to the refrigerator and grabbed a few sodas, tossing one to an approaching Talon. He was trying to give Sam and Emily the privacy he knew she wanted, but even through the fizz of his drink and the cracking of Talon opening his, he could hear the protests Emily was giving. Jacob never meant to eavesdrop, it wasn't like he really _wanted_ to hear what they were arguing about, but they all seemed to forget about their perfected hearing. In all honesty, it was their fault. They should have known better than to speak privately within earshot of every wolf in the pack.

"Sam, please." Jacob heard Emily whisper. "Just this once. Let Paul go this time."

"Emily," Sam sighed heavily. "we've talked about this so many times. I'm the beta of this pack, I _have_ to go."

Jacob could hear the desperation in Sam's voice. He didn't want to argue with her, it hurt him to do it every time he ended up getting tired of her constant prodding. And although Jacob tried his hardest not to get involved, he ended up intervening anyway.

"Come on Sam, we really need to get going if we want to get there on time."

Sam glanced in Jacob's direction and nodded, catching Jacob's eye for the briefest of moments and sending a silent thank you through his. Talon stood beside his father, watching the scene before him with a very bored expression. The married-with-kids thing not at all appealing to him at the time. He was overly thankful when Sam finally said bye, sealed it with a kiss, and silenced anymore protests from his obviously upset wife. As they moved for the door Jacob turned back slightly and winked at his sister.

"Bye Hailey," Jacob almost mocked. "please… at least _try_ to behave yourself while I'm gone."

"Of course, daddy." Hailey grinned. "I always am."

Jacob and Talon both scoffed, Jacob sending one last silent order to his pack to keep an eye out for her. They all nodded as he disappeared through the door. The three reached the woods and stripped, putting their clothes in neat piles to make carrying them easier. They phased and began their three day run, all their minds wandering wildly about what was going to happen. Jacob thought about asking Sam if he was alright, but Sam's thoughts steered him away. He _was_ upset about Emily, just like he always was when they fought about their family. Sam wasn't swaying about the kid thing, and she wasn't either. He was afraid she was going to leave, and that only fueled Jacob's current mission to make things safer for all of them. To make their environment safe enough that they _can_ have kids, that they _can _have the lives they wanted. Jacob's reassuring feelings flooded over Sam, calming him the slightest bit. They had to stay calm, they had to be in the highest spirits possible upon arriving. It was all about attitude when it came to other packs, and hopefully they would be able to spread their calm and complacent emotions throughout the visiting alphas. Hopefully.

**XXXXXXXXX**

"Ugh, do I really _have_ to?" Hailey huffed and rolled her eyes, setting her purse down on the kitchen table.

Paul stood directly in front of her, arms folded, brows furrowed. "Yes, you do. I'm boss while Jacob's gone, and you have to do what I say. Patrols, now!"

She was being much more difficult than he'd hoped. He knew she was Leah's daughter, but he didn't know she'd be _that_ much like her. He'd already given her two different patrol schedules and she'd refused both. Over the course of two days she'd successfully managed to dodge patrols altogether, leaving an already temperamental Paul frustrated.

"But I had plans! Why do I have to have the evening shifts? That's when all my plans for the week are."

He knew what she was doing. She'd done it both times he'd given her different patrol schedules and he was sick of hearing Quil and Brady complain about having to do doubles, so she was just going to get whatever he gave. He was finished negotiating with a sixteen year old.

"I don't care. I've given you two other options and you've skipped out twice. You have evening patrols everyday for the rest of the week. Seth will be out around the same time so you wont be alone. Now, go."

Hailey wasn't stupid. She knew that she'd been pushing her luck with Paul, but it worked for two days so, hey, why not? She knew she technically had to, but nobody said she couldn't get out of it whenever she could. Paul had been easy at first, seeming to be almost afraid to argue with her. But he'd quickly gotten comfortable with her and her plans had gone downhill from there. But, whatever. She could deal.

"Okay, I'm going to change."

She bounded up the stairs and replaced her jeans with shorts and threw on a tank top, she forgot about shoes all together. Colin followed her out, reminding her quickly where her circuit started and finished. After phasing and running it a few times she suddenly wished Colin had stayed with her. She couldn't for the life of her understand how they ran the same circuits over and over for days at a time. It was _so_ boring and _so_ lonely. They had successfully managed to keep her away from anything even _resembling_ La Push borders, all of her circuits running through others and back to the house. It was hideously repetitive.

A few more rounds and she couldn't take it anymore, she knew she was "disobeying an order", or whatever they liked to call it, but she could just fake ignorance and say she got mixed up if they caught her. She still had two or three more hours of patrolling so instead of attempting to sneak back in the house she just found another circuit and followed it. She did that two or three times until she reached what she could only label as one of their borders. It was almost like an invisible force field. Something screaming at her not to cross it. Honestly, it was amazing. How something that some people didn't even know existed could be so potent and clear to her. She approached it slowly, testing the grey areas before identifying how far was too far. There was a small area in between conveniently placed trees that seemed like some sort of safe zone, an area that wasn't on either La Push land or whoever's land that was. An in between. She continued to snoop around the circuit following the border, quickly learning where the La Push limits were.

Hailey only had about an hour and a half left to patrol, she'd ran several different circuits and ended up back at the border, seating herself in a small clearing staring out at the foreign territory. She heard a small snap, paw prints following closely after. Instinctually, she assumed it was one of theirs, only realizing differently when she saw a figure moving on the other side of that invisible wall. She couldn't help the small curl in her stomach, that nervous feeling that still invaded her often after being kidnapped by psycho wolves. Hailey stood up and began fidgeting nervously, debating weather to run or if that would only make matters worse. During her time in La Push she'd found that running seemingly never works, so she stayed put, eyeing the rustling bushes carefully.

After only a few more moments a large wolf appeared and was immediately aware of her presence. He was a male, that much she could smell. He was huge, that much was obvious. He was an odd black and brown mix, his eyes matching one of the lighter brows in his fur. She watched him carefully as he approached the border, tilting his head to the side as he strode as close as he could to get a better look. Hailey dropped her head, tilting her ears forward in an attempt to ward off any signs of hostility. He kicked the dirt backward with his paws and barked loudly at her. She had no idea what the hell he was doing, she was way to new to all of this to know how to speak dog. So she nodded her head once and moved to where she'd recently placed her clothes, throwing them on quickly and returning to the small clearing.

She couldn't be sure if it was curiosity or just plain stupidity that compelled her to go back, she could have easily made a run for it. He didn't seem to want any trouble, but she returned all the same. Hands in the air in surrender, her face reflecting all of her current anxiety, she approached the border slowly. The wolf dropped his head, a loud grunt escaping from his chest. When she reached it, he backed away slowly, jumping behind a bush and returning with a dirty pair of cutoffs.

"Who are you?" He asked loudly, positioning himself directly in front of her.

"Uh, my name is Hailey.." She said softly, trying her best to keep the fear out of her voice.

The man eyed her for a moment, lifting his brow. "You're Jacob's daughter?"

Hailey nodded, the two remaining quiet for a good moment. He was big even when human, and equally as intimidating. He was tan, obviously in the sun more often then not. All in all he resembled the rest of them, muscles overtaking his whole body, dark hair and sculpted features. His eyes were caramel, distinct chocolate swirls surrounding his pupil. He was dirty, mud and leaves scattered all over him from head to toe. What caught her eye above all else was the scars. It unperfected his otherwise perfect form, but didn't take away from his overall gorgeous appearance. For whatever numbskull reason, she wanted to touch the one on his neck. It was huge. The teeth marks were very distinct in the more than likely year old scar, the trails that led around to the back connecting with another set. The others seemed unimportant when compared to it, even the large one on his chest that was probably larger than her entire arm.

She guessed he caught her staring because he broke their silence, folding his arms and clearing his throat loudly.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing." She answered quickly, following suit and folding her arms. "Who are you?"

"Keegan."

"What's your last name?" Hailey asked.

"I don't have one."

She cocked her head, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"Everyone has a last name.." She chuckled a little but it faded when his face remained deadly serious. "..okay maybe not.."

Keegan raised his brow, finding himself fairly amused with her nervous behavior. He knew he shouldn't be there, conversing with another alpha's child, with his daughter nonetheless, but he was glued. She was beautiful, and strange. Her fidgeting and unfamiliar behaviors keeping his attention hooked on her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Patrolling."

"They let you patrol?"

"Why wouldn't they?" Hailey asked defensively, already able to hear the girl jokes before he spoke them.

He shrugged. "You're important, didn't think Jacob would allow it."

Hailey pulled her head back, a little confused, a little flattered. Though she quickly recovered remembering the lack of females in their wolfy world.

"Oh…" She huffed. "what are _you _doing here?"

He grinned. "Patrolling."

She allowed a small smirk, not wanting to seem too amused with his unnerving charm. He obviously didn't mean to, he was about as animated as the stump she was standing near, but it was there all the same.

"You run this circuit everyday?"

"Uh huh," He clicked his tongue. "you obviously don't. I think I would have run into you before now."

"Yeah, first day. My brother and I just joined the pack a few days ago."

"I see. Where is he?" Keegan stepped slowly to the side, taking a seat under a large tree.

"He went with my dad to that big meeting…" Hailey sat down across from him. "..why didn't you go?"

"I'm not beta, or third in command. Why would I go?"

"Oh, uh, I don't know." She cringed under the sudden awkwardness she felt.

"What's wrong with you?"

She snapped her attention to him, raising her brows and tilting her head. "What do you mean?"

"You move to much." He said calmly. "…and you don't make eye contact… and you bite your nails." He smiled. "I'm not going to attack you. You can calm down."

Hailey's face crinkled with frustration. Here she was ogling at how gorgeous he was, and he's naming off all her problems, _out loud_. What an ass.

"Thanks for the reassurance." She snorted. "I'll keep all that in mind."

To her seemingly never ending list of surprises, he laughed. Loud and hard, doubling over once his stomach began to hurt.

"and you're defensive."

Hailey watched him as he continued to chuckle, covering his face with one hand. She rolled her eyes and bit back the giggle she felt forming. "Whatever. I have to go."

She stood up and began to walk away, but noticed about after about four steps that he was following.

"Are you running this circuit tomorrow?"

She turned around to face him, his smile completely gone, that oddly serious face she'd first seen him with back in place.

"I can."

"So do it."

"Why?" She asked challengingly.

"Because I want you to."

"So?"

He huffed in annoyance. "Just come here tomorrow."

Hailey eyed him for a minute, amused with his sudden interest. "Fine."

He smiled.

"Bye, _Hailey_."

"Bye, _Keegan_."

She sauntered away quickly, that stupid bubbly feeling building in her stomach. Of course she'd be the one to feel the need to go against one of the few "rules" that applied to her. How convenient.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

a/n. Sorry for the delay, I got halfway finished with it last night and accidentally closed out of word and lost all my progress. Will update _much _sooner. (: Hope you enjoy. A lot of Keegan and Hailey in the next few chapters. And of course a "meeting" update. Reviews please!


	26. Positive Outlook

Hailey sat awkwardly at the kitchen table. It wasn't that she didn't _like_ Clair, she just found the girl a bit obnoxious. And a little too prissy. It was probably because she'd been imprinted on so early and he'd catered to her every whim from the time she was like three, or maybe because Kim treated her like some sort of lost daughter that she never had. She was sure Kim had her reasons. But Hailey couldn't help but notice how _un_-daughter-like Kim treated Alex. Of course, she knew nothing about being a parent or distributing equal attention, but it was blatantly obvious to anyone looking that Kim held some sort of resentment for the girl. Everyone knew it wasn't Alex's fault or choice to be that other woman's daughter, but she was, and she was unkindly reminded of that daily.

Hailey was sure that Kim and Jared had their share of fights over the multiple year old problem, but she still didn't feel it was right to put Alex in the middle. Now that Alex was living in La Push, it only seemed to get worse. Kim never spoke more than one or two words to her while they were together, and never second glanced her. Alex had once asked her to take her to the store when it was raining, Kim told her to she could phase. She didn't need a car. Not something that helped to break the already heavy ice between the two. If anything it only made Alex dislike her that much more.

Hailey glanced over at Alex who was sitting at the head of the table, fiddling with her fork. She looked miserable. It wasn't hard to see how different she was when Talon was around, maybe he made things easier for her. Maybe he was just that person that she felt she could talk to and he'd understand. Of course, she was o' so very wrong because Hailey knew that above all else Talon _hated_ talking about feelings and daddy problems. But Hailey knew there was a small chance her brother had changed slightly for the girl that had kept his attention for the duration of their stay, and he hadn't even so much as glanced at another girl since.

She liked the way things had played out for all of them so far. Her mother and father back together, and _happy_ of all things. Talon and Alex creating whatever bond they shared. It was comfortable seeing all your loved ones getting what they so obviously deserve, but she knew it wasn't all candy and roses. Jacob still had problems, so did the other pack members. Problems nobody could possibly understand. It would shine though every once in a while and it was hard to pick up on, but with the mention of something small, something you wouldn't think anything of, you could see it on their faces. Maybe a memory, maybe a flashback or some sort of moment relived. Whatever it was, every so often, you'd see it flash across their faces. Their eyes would go black, their features would harden, their bodies would tense and shake softly. Then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone.

Hailey had no idea how to even approach that conversation with her dad, he wasn't exactly the most inviting person when it came to things about the pack. Even after they'd officially joined they weren't completely in the loop. She knew it was a "protection" thing, all that worry that came from she and Talon being his children, and she could understand that. She just hoped that he'd come back with good news. Bad news would be unacceptable.

"Hey, Alex?" Hailey began, not looking up from the table. "Can I talk to you for a minute, outside?"

Hailey hadn't noticed that Clair was talking, nor did she notice that she just interrupted her and cut her off completely. But she didn't really care. The girl would talk about anything and most of the time it was about absolutely _nothing_.

"Sure."

The two got up and pushed their chairs under, assuring Clair on the way out that they would be back shortly. Once they reached the back porch, Hailey huffed and plopped down in one of the lounge chairs.

"I have to tell you something, and you have to _promise _not to say anything to anyone. Not even Talon."

Alex eyed her suspiciously, honestly afraid of what she was about to say. If Hailey didn't want Talon to know, it had to be pretty bad.

"Promise. Now spill."

Alex took the seat next to her and turned to face her, leaning her elbows on her knees and chin in her hands.

"I met someone yesterday."

Alex didn't have to look very hard to see the cringe. A cringe that usually meant there was more, she just didn't want to say it. "And?"

"His name is Keegan."

"Okay so it's a he. Where did you meet him?"

"In the woods."

Alex sighed, _not_ good. "Where in the woods?"

"Over the border…." Hailey grinned. "he's from another pack."

Alex rolled her eyes dramatically, then let her head fall in between her knees. "Why? Why are the two of you _always_ finding ways to get in trouble? Why cant you ever just hear a rule, then follow it??"

Hailey laughed loudly, pushing the chair further back and sprawling out in it. "I'm not breaking any rules."

"Uh, _no conversing with other pack members outside of your own pack_." Alex recited. "Ring any bells?"

Hailey grunted and shook her head. "Oh, come on! They cant honestly be serious about that. Do you really think that if I went up to my dad and told him that I _talked_ to another pack member, that he would punish me for it?"

Alex shook her head, turning herself to mimic Hailey's rested position. "No, I guess not."

"Didn't think so." Hailey smiled triumphantly, turning her nose up to the sun. "He's just different, I'm curious is all."

"And you can tell me right now that _nothing_ else will come out of this?" Alex silently pleaded, hoping and praying that her friend wouldn't be stupid enough to think that Jacob could let _that_ go unpunished.

Maybe not so much Hailey, but Alex had seen many times what Jacob was capable of when his temper was tested and his daughter secretly seeing some other pack member was most defiantly enough to set him off. She couldn't say that this Keegan person would still have a head when he was finished.

"Uh, _no_. He's not my type." Hailey scoffed. "And I don't think he even _has_ a type."

"So let me guess, you're meeting him tonight?" Alex quizzed, turning her head slightly to take in Hailey's expression.

"Yep." Hailey popped the "p". "At the border where I met him yesterday."

Alex sighed. "_Please_ be careful. You don't know what he's capable of. These other packs, they're not like ours. I've lived with them, and they aren't all there upstairs. They'll do whatever they're _told_ to do and it doesn't matter if you're his friend or not. Stay at a good distance and don't give him any info you think would be important."

Hailey, despite her carefree attitude, listened carefully to Alex's advice. She may have been the same age, but she knew ten times more about this pack stuff than Hailey did, and she wasn't to proud to admit that.

"Thanks, I'll be careful."

The two returned to the house only to grab their bathing suits and returned to the back porch shortly after to begin their sunbathing session. Being of native decent, they were naturally tan, but it never hurt to add a little sun kissed color. Besides, it was relaxing. Though Alex kept her phone glued to her hand, frequently receiving messages from Talon letting her know how things were going. Well, the first two were about the meeting, the rest… not so much.

**

* * *

**"Who gives you the right to force us out of our own state?" One of the large men growled.

"What about our families?"

Jacob sighed, all the shouting was giving him a headache. He and his two stood with Jeremy and his at the head of the large assembly hall, looking out over a room full of angry men. He knew it was going to be stressful, but at this rate, they'd be there for much longer than a week.

"If you would all just _listen_, you'll understand that we're not trying to force anyone from their homes. We are just trying to maintain a peaceful way of being amongst each other. The vampire threat has gone down to almost inexistence, yet we're all still having to worry about our friends and families being hurt or killed."

Jacob began, trying his best to keep his voice calm. He wanted to scream at them, to walk out of the building and set it on fire, eliminating the remaining threat with one flick of the wrist. Though he was sure everyone would find that unfavorable, and bordering insane, so he stuck with what he was doing.

"We're listening." A man in the front stated, folding his arms and taking his seat.

"Basically, Jeremy and I are taking this opportunity to give you all a choice. A choice that will from this point forward define the future of your families and packs. You all know that I'm not interested in power or land, I don't care about expanding or having what anyone else has. I just want to be able to rest at night knowing my family is safe."

"That's what we all want!" Another man interrupted.

Jacob nodded and held his hands up, trying to silence them without raising his voice.

"Please…" Jacob continued. "Let me finish before anyone speaks again."

He watched the large room, only intending on moving forward once they agreed. It didn't take long before all of their heads started bobbing up and down, giving their silent approval.

"From the time my children arrived, we've had nothing but trouble. Nashoba and Tyrone kidnapped my daughter, tried to kill my son, _almost_ killed the mother of my children and two of my pack members, and scared the shit out of their imprints and our families. Now, I don't know about you guys, but that's just a bit overboard and I wont allow this to happen anymore. We've decided that from now on, anyone that doesn't agree to the rules we've laid out will have to find a new home. Anyone who disobeys and refuses to leave, will be dealt with accordingly by Jeremy, myself and our packs."

There was a quiet mumble spreading throughout the crowd. Jacob knew most of them were to chicken shit to say anything, and that anyone who they'd have trouble out of would save it for later. After a few moments of what they could only assume to be discussion about the ultimatum, one of the larger alphas stood and stepped forward.

"My pack and I respect what you're doing, and you have our full support. If it were me, I cant say that I would be so easy going about everything that's happened. For that, I give you credit."

Jacob let out a breath of relief, so far, so good. "Thank you. For those of you that agree and have no arguments, suggestions or complaints; you're free to go. Those of you that do, we'll meet back here in the morning to try and settle any issues you may have with our terms, or any questions about the rules."

Jacob was even more relieved to find that most of the assembled members seemed happy and agreeable, there were only a few he could point out with scowls or frowns. He wouldn't know for sure until the next morning, whatever happened then would be a make or break for their little plan. It seemed as if things were working out in their favor so far. He was pleased anyways.

They watched the assembly room empty, leaving only the crooked rows of chairs. Jacob glanced over at Jeremy, noting his unreadable features.

"Seems like most of them are for it, huh?" Jacob turned to him.

Jeremy shrugged. "I guess so. Cant be sure until tomorrow but so far everything seems to be playing out."

"Did you get a hotel room?" Jacob questioned suddenly, unable to recall seeing him or his two at the hotel most of the packs were staying at.

Jeremy laughed lightly, shaking his head as he stepped down off the small stage. "No. We're fine in the woods."

Jacob wanted to question him. Ask why he was so insistent on staying in the damn woods when all the other packs, even the most primal, were rooming with the rest. He found it quite odd. But, knowing Jeremy, and knowing how other alphas responded to being questioned, he just let it go and watched as Jeremy and his two left the building.

"He's just full of surprises." Sam said mockingly.

"I know. Every time I've seen him lately he acts as if he's trying to prove something." Jacob folded his arms. "I'm starting to think he's one of the ones with the issues."

Sam nodded and grinned, finding their similar train of thought pretty amusing. Talon stood patiently to the side, listening to every word and noting every uncomfortable movement or unnoticed expression. He had envisioned Jeremy being much different, more like them, he supposed. But the longer he was around him, the further from alike they seemed. Jacob only seemed to get more and more uncomfortable around him, watching Jeremy's movements carefully and constantly aware of what he was doing. It amazed Talon just how alert Jacob was. There wasn't a moment he could think of that Jacob didn't know who was around, what they were doing, where they were from, why there were there. It was completely admirable and Talon found himself watching Jacob ninety nine percent of the time to find out how he was doing it. The more he was around his dad dealing with pack stuff, the more he sort of understood him.

For a long time, Talon had thought Jacob to be almost distant. He never talked about the war or when he came back, he never wanted to talk about other packs or alphas. Talon had tried several times to get him to start introducing him to the pack and maybe let him run a few patrols, but Jacob refused. Talon wasn't sure if he was just worried, or if he just didn't want Talon to be apart of it because of how things turned out for him. Talon couldn't blame him, he'd seen some of the things Jacob had dealt with. When he was phased with all the others running back to the Cullen's, their minds were running wild. Some of them comparing their little fight with Nashoba and Tyrone's packs to their time fighting the Volturi, some of them thinking only of their time fighting the Volturi. Seth's visions were the most vivid. He could see everything so clearly once he really started paying attention to Seth alone, he saw his dad, Sam and Paul all three in a huge brawl with other wolves. They were all yelping and snarling, fur and blood mixed into all their fur and on their mouths. Watching all of it unfold in someone's mind that was there, watching it and knowing that it was real, that it had really happened was pretty hard to digest. It made Talon really think about what Jacob had told him regarding the other packs and how different they were.

He couldn't help but think of how it had effected all the pack members he looked up to now. Seth, Paul, Jared, Sam, Embry, Quil, all the pups. Above all his dad. They were so young when they left, all their lives flipped from school and just hanging out to killing everything from vampires to humans to other wolves. Thinking of how messed up their lives must have been for so long made him realize how hard it must have been for Jacob to see him _wanting_ to be apart of it. He knew he probably thought that Talon didn't know what he was getting into, that he didn't understand the severity of his decisions and blah, blah. But he did. He had been around them for most of his life and he saw everyday just how hard it could impact someone. It wasn't that he didn't want a somewhat normal life, in certain aspects he did, but he wanted to be apart of his family. He knew what it meant, he knew what they wanted him to be sure of, and he knew that's exactly what he wanted. In a way he'd always wanted it. In the beginning, when he didn't know his dad, that's all he could think about. Meeting him, being with him, being like him. Now he had him, and he wanted to be like him.

"You ready to go?" Jacob snapped Talon from his thoughts, standing and jumping off the stage.

"Yeah, sure." Talon did the same. "What do we do now?"

Jacob grinned. "Nothing, I guess. Go back to the room and watch some TV, sleep, eat…. Whatever."

Talon chuckled and nodded, then followed Sam and Jacob obediently back to the hotel. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, flipping it open and finding a text waiting.

He smiled, already knowing who it was before opening it.

_Hey, I know you're probably busy. Just text me when you get the chance, Hailey is patrolling so I'm hiding out in the garage… Clair is driving me insane. _

"Who is it?"

Talon looked up, Sam and Jacob's eyes glued on him. He bit back a laugh. It was fairly hard getting used to just how much pack members shared with each other. But he wouldn't complain, he was just happy to be there.

"Alex. Hailey is patrolling, she's bored."

Sam and Jacob both laughed. "So Paul finally got her to run some, huh?" Jacob said through laughs. "He called yesterday bitching cause she kept skipping out."

Talon flopped on the bed and rolled to his side, waiting until his dad's attention was averted before typing his response.

_We're in the hotel now, I can talk for the rest of the night. _

"So, Sam.. You imprinted on Emily, right?" Talon asked randomly.

"Yeah, why?"

"Hailey found some old pictures of you and my mom…"

Jacob's attention quickly returned to the conversation, the TV not seeming so interesting after that statement. The twins knew Sam and Leah had been close once, but she'd never given them the full story. Talon figured who better to ask than Sam himself, though Sam didn't seem so appreciative.

"Uh, yeah, we dated…." He answered roughly. "Well, actually, we were supposed to get married. I imprinted a few weeks before the wedding and instead of telling her like I should have, she ended up catching Emily and I kissing…"

Talon's eyes shot out of his head. It took all he had not to laugh. He wasn't a match expert, but he just couldn't see Sam with his mom. She was strong, a leader. She needed someone assertive, someone that wouldn't take her shit and could hold his own against her. Sam was a follower, weather he meant to be or not, he was.

"Wow. I bet she was pissed." Talon snorted. "I would have hated to be you.."

Jacob couldn't help but smile. "Actually, she wasn't so…well… _her_, until after all that. It really did break her heart, she was too upset to be angry. Until she phased that is. Then she was a complete uber bitch, everyone hated her, she made Sam miserable, it was great."

Talon laughed then, his dad's nonchalance and Sam's lack thereof making the night much more interesting. His text message alert sounded.

_Good. I miss you._

"So, how did you end up with her if she was such a bitch?"

It was Sam's turn to snort. "Because he was heartbroken over that stupid Bella bitch."

Talon shrugged, unable to make the connection.

Jacob rolled his eyes. "We both… well… we understood each other I guess. We were both pissed off, both upset.. I guess it was just easy."

"So you weren't really like… _in love_ at first?" Talon cringed at his words, hating how personal the conversation had gotten.

He keyed his response during Jacob's silence.

_I miss you too. How's Kim been?_

"Not at first, no. We were together for a couple of months secretly before we decided to actually be.. Well… _together_."

Talon peeked up at the two other men in the room, the atmosphere suddenly tense. Sam didn't seem to happy with the conversation, Jacob didn't seem to happy with the fact that Sam wasn't happy…. It was confusing. His phone sounded.

_A bitch. She wont even talk to me. I'm getting sick of dealing with her. She makes me sort of want to go back and live with my mom.._

Talon's stomach dropped. He hated it when she talked about leaving, he could understand that it was hard, but it wasn't unbearable. She didn't actually have to get along with her, just deal with her for a while. Kim hated her because of what Jared did, that was plain to see, and Alex wasn't expected to be all buddy buddy with her. She just _thought_ she was.

_Shut up with that crap. We've been through this a million times. Who cares about her. __**I **__want you here. __**I **__need you here. I'll be back soon and I wont be leaving again. As soon as I'm home she'll lay off just like always, no worries. (: _

He felt like such a dork. It wasn't that he didn't mean any of it, he just hated actually _saying_ it to her. Even typing it. He hated admitting that she had such an affect on him. But if that's what it took to keep her happy and make her stay, then he'd continue making himself uncomfortable and talking about his feelings like a complete ass.

"Well, this conversation is obviously a dead end." Talon grinned at Jacob, noting his flexing muscles.

"Yeah, let's not talk about that anymore."

Sam had already laid down and was attempting to go to sleep, Jacob soon did the same. Talon, of course, found himself up waiting on a text. It was ridiculous. His phone finally chimed.

_I guess I can stay… for you. You owe me though. I wish I could talk longer but I'm really tired. Hailey should be back soon so I'm gonna head on to bed. Goodnight._

He sighed with relief.

_Goodnight. Tell Hay that I love her. _

It didn't take long for him to fall asleep. He'd had a long day, and another long one ahead of him. Things were looking up so far, he just hoped they'd stay that way. He was in a bit to deep to just pack up and leave, and he knew that if his father felt the need he'd have no trouble sending them away.

* * *

"Why do you do that?" Keegan's nose was scrunched in confusion.

"Do what??"

"You're chewing your nail off, quit it."

Hailey narrowed her eyes at him, wanting nothing more than to chunk a rock at his head. He was so blunt, and insensitive. He was like a damn social retard, and he was getting on her nerves.

"It's my nail, I'll chew it if I want to!"

He grinned. "That's mature."

Hailey huffed and continued biting her nail. They had been there for the majority of her patrol, sitting across from one another. During that time he'd managed to insult her countless times, and she couldn't get him to talk about anything. He was nothing short of amused with her wild mood swings and her irrational outbursts after he'd said something hurtful. He wasn't used to someone being so emotional, it was sort of refreshing. New, and strange.

"Shut up." She turned her head away from him.

"Oh stop it." He threw a stick in her direction. "You're being a baby. It's not like I called you fat, I told you that you're chewing your nail off, it's not that big a deal."

"You're so annoying." She said quietly.

"Then why are you still here?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you." She snorted.

He chuckled lightly. "You're here for the same reason I am. You're curious. You want to know who I am and where I'm from, how old I am and when my birthday is. Personal things, things that you're afraid to ask because you're scared of me."

Hailey slowly turned her head back to him, her eyes catching his briefly.

"I'm not afraid of you." She said softly.

"Yes you are." He stood and moved so he was touching the border. "You're scared to death of me."

She stood up and matched his distance. "No, I'm not." She tilted her head slightly. "You apparently know all the things I want to ask, but what about you? What are you curious about?"

"Nothing, I just like getting on your nerves and watching you overreact." He shrugged.

Hailey folded her arms and shook her head. "Where are you from?"

Keegan smiled lightly, noting her change in subject. She was trying to stay calm, avoid amusing him any further. Which in itself, was amusing to him.

"Jeremy's pack. We border half of La Push."

"Do you live outside?"

"Most of the time."

"Why?" She pushed.

"Because it's easier to keep an eye out that way."

"Our pack doesn't do that. We take turns patrolling at night, but everyone has their own houses and stuff." She watched him carefully, examining his reaction. But there was nothing out of the ordinary. He just ducked his head and sighed.

"Well, that's not how we do it. We have our own houses on the outskirts of town, but we rarely stay in them."

"Hmm." She continued to stare at him, engulfed with the new information. Saying she was nosey was the understatement of the century. "What about your imprints?"

"We don't have any."

"I thought most wolves imprinted?" She tilted her head and inched a little closer.

"They do." He inhaled deeply. "Those of us who have them, aren't allowed to see them until…" He stopped and turned around, moving back to his place under the large tree and sitting down.

"Until what?"

He glanced up at her, his face shifting to something resembling annoyance. "When is it my turn to ask questions?"

Hailey grinned. "You said you were just here to aggravate me."

"Well I'm not."

"So why are you here, then?"

Keegan rolled his eyes and turned his head away, the reversed control of the conversation eating at his patience.

"Same reason as you I guess."

"You're just afraid to ask questions because you're scared of me." She chuckled lightly, amused with her use of his words against him.

He peeked up at her from under his brow. "I guess I am."

Her smile faded with the seriousness she heard in his voice. Most everything he'd said to her so far was filled with sarcasm and was hard to distinguish between truth and bullshit, but he seemed pretty serious then.

He got up and sauntered back over to stand in front of her, the space between them almost inexistent.

"You're not afraid of me." She smiled.

"Yes I am."

"Right, because I'm so intimidating." Hailey said sarcastically, rolling her eyes and waving her hands playfully.

Even with her lightened mood, he remained serious. "You are. In so many ways."

She wasn't able to recover her smile, his eyes were boring into hers something fierce, leaving her frazzled and confused. So instead of attempting to cleverly dart off subject, knowing she'd probably fail, she improvised.

"How about from now on, every time you answer one of my questions you get to ask me one?" She offered, suddenly uncomfortable with where this was going, but unable to halt it all the same.

"Sounds fair." He smiled warmly. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Same place?" She asked for good measure.

"Same place."

Hailey nodded and began her walk home, pinching her eyes together when remembering she still had to do a few laps before she was able to go to bed.

"Goodnight, _Hailey_." She heard him call from a distance.

"Goodnight, _Keegan_."

Once she was phased she quickly scanned their little link to be sure she was alone, and she was. If anyone was phased they were keeping their distance. She was free to revel in the fact that she'd probably just set herself up for trouble. Maybe not with the general meeting, but with the growing tension she felt when close to him. Hailey wasn't stupid by any means, and she knew what she was feeling. It was ridiculous and off the charts crazy, but she couldn't help it. He was frustrating and obnoxiously annoying, but he had a certain charm, a shine to him that kept her attention hooked. She usually never went for the dark-and-mysterious type, but Keegan was a bit different. Everything about him was different, she could feel it every time she was around him. He was strong and straightforward, but she could feel the anxiety he was holstering. She shouldn't have cared, she'd only talked to him twice, but she did. She wanted to know what it was that made him, him. And even though she had such a bad feeling about pursuing it, she was anyway. She could only hope that her want or rather _need_ to figure him out didn't backfire and explode in her face. That _would_ be her luck, after all.

* * *

**a/n. So, I know I said a lot of Hailey and Keegan, but I got carried away with Talon and Jacob. (: Leah in the next chapter, and more H/K. Hope you enjoyed. Reviews PLEASE!! **


	27. Close

"Will you please tell me how in the hell I got myself into this mess?"

Leah asked Sue as she banged her head dramatically on the kitchen table inside her two story home. They had only been there for a few days, but she was already frustrated beyond belief. Derek had been up her ass for most of their stay, and was still trying desperately to convince her that they were "made" for each other. Leah, whose mind was completely unshakable on the subject, merely laughed in his face and told him she was back with Jacob. The mention of her ex was enough to turn the last visit ugly, there was screaming and yelling, throwing and breaking. But she didn't waver, not even slightly. Derek was a scumbag, and she was finished with him. In fact, she was finished with everything in Bay City. She had first intended to beg for a leave of absence from her job, then work out a transfer to Forks, but now she was past that.

She was going to quit her job, sell that damn house, and get back to La Push as fast as her SUV would carry her. She was so anxious to get back that she had even begun picking out things she really didn't need, because Jacob already had it, and giving them away. Everything in Talon's room was packed, everything in Hailey's room was packed, and she had been working hastily on hers before she'd gotten the call.

"Now, Leah. He's just upset." Sue tried to ease her daughter's frustrations slightly. "You haven't even called him over the past few weeks. You not only working things out with Jacob, but moving back to La Push probably came as quite a shock to him. You were pretty adamant about staying here not that long ago… and you supposedly despised the likes of Jacob Black."

Leah laughed a little to herself. It was the truth. Before she'd left this last time, she would have laughed her ass off at whoever suggested that she'd be with Jacob and moving in with him. All of it happened so fast, and the turn of events with the other packs only fueled her growing need for him. The few days they had together over the past week were glued in her mind. She hadn't been so calm and completely at ease for….well….a very, _very_ long time. The thought of moving in with him didn't even register as _moving-to-fast_ after talking with him and settling all their issues. It was actually kind of nice having someone to depend on, someone that would do things for _her_ sometimes rather than her just doing everything on her own. For the first time in over seventeen years, she was alright with admitting she didn't want to do everything by herself, that maybe it was just a little too hard.

"Still, refusing to sign the paperwork is a bit childish. I'm leaving anyway, I'll get the house sold with or without him, I just don't understand his logic. He's just making me hate him more.."

Sue chuckled lightly, shaking her head at her daughter's lack of tolerance. Leah couldn't see things from his point of view because she didn't _want _to. She no longer cared about things in Bay City because she was completely content with what she now had in La Push. Sue was beyond happy with how things had turned out family wise, Leah and Jacob, the twins and the pack. It was all very exciting and she was so very proud of all of them, but she could still empathize with Derek who, after Leah was gone, would have nobody. From what Leah told her on the way, Derek had fallen long and hard from who he once was. Maybe he was always like that, he just hid it very well. Maybe he'd gotten lost somewhere within all the success and power he'd acquired. Nobody could be sure, but Sue couldn't help but feel for the man.

"Leah, sweetie, you're getting your life back. You _should_ be happy, but cant you try to be a little nicer to the poor man. You're leaving and taking everything with you… isn't that grounds enough for a few kind words?"

Leah stared blankly at her, an almost annoyed expression taking over. "That man has threatened to take everything away from me from day one. Ever since I got involved with him and accepted his _'help_', I've been nothing short of miserable. He's never taken any time to consider my feelings when blackmailing me into dating him, or sleeping with him, or allowing him to move into _my_ house with _my_ children. Constantly insulting Jacob _to_ the kids, picking fights with Talon, always yelling at Hailey… further igniting the fights with Talon….then going on to tell me that if I so much as speak a fowl word to him, he'd pull out of our agreement and kick me out of the house _I've_ been paying for."

Sue had her chin rested on her hand, her elbow propped on the table, watching Leah carefully. Sue knew better than anyone that Leah would probably always refuse to allow her emotions to just flow freely, but she'd been much better about it since returning home. At least she was taking the time to explain to Sue _why_ she'd been such a bitch to Derek. Her mother felt a little better about her daughter's behavior knowing that the man was, in fact, a slime.

"Oh, well…" Sue shifted slightly, feeling Leah's annoyance heavily in the air. "…now that you put it _that _way I suppose he deserves it.."

Leah's mouth turned up a bit, a tiny smirk forming under the hard scowl she'd been wearing during their time in Bay City. Leah was much more productive then Sue remembered. Thinking back on it, the last time Leah actually lived with her and was around long enough for Sue to know anything about her, she was twenty years old. She was heartbroken and bitter, always angry, always lashing out. Their last few months together had been the highlight of their relationship. Leah came to her with she and Jacob's secret, confiding in her and hoping for her support. Sue, looking for any way to make their relationship better, gave it without any sort of swaying necessary. She watched as Leah's attitude shifted from day to day, the bitterness slowly fading away as happiness took over. It was amazing that Jacob could do what he did, and Sue would never be able to thank him the way she wanted to. There were no words, nothing she could do to repay him for all he'd done for her, for Leah, for their people.

Sue had secretly allowed Jacob to stay with them whenever Leah asked, unable to deny her daughter the only thing that had managed to make her smile. Jacob ended up being at their house more often than not. They patrolled together, they slept together, they ate every meal together. Sue almost began to fear what would happen if he left, if something happened between them. Leah was strong, but she wasn't sure she'd recover from losing him. When everyone found out, she almost did. Billy and Old Quil refused to allow it. They said Jacob would imprint, that he would carry on the bloodline, not end it. He was alpha, it was his duty. But, much to Sue _and_ Leah's surprise, Jacob refused to allow them to deny what he knew was rightfully his. Something Sue would never be able to explain happened after that, something that forever changed their way of being. Jacob burst through the doors of the council's meeting hall one afternoon, bloody and a complete beaten mess. He was angry, and tired, and honestly frightened them the slightest bit when he began to speak.

Embry and Seth had been attacked by a group of vampires. Seven of them. They'd both been bitten, and left for dead. Leah found them first, immediately calling for backup and for Carlisle. When Jacob arrived Seth and Embry were both convulsing, screaming in agony and thrashing violently at anyone who tried to approach. After Carlisle began working on them, Jacob took Paul and Leah with him, and went after the group of vampires. They killed them all, and Jacob left the other two to burn them while he informed the council on what happened. Instead of just informing them, he screamed it at them. Demanding his place as alpha, and that the packs be rejoined. A meeting was called, an hour later. Not only pack and council members, but all imprints and family members were summoned as well. When everyone was seated, Jacob stood at the head of the room and demanded silence. His voice pounded through the assembly hall like a band of explosives, everyone complying to whatever he requested. He didn't ask Sam to resign, he told him that he was.

The initial command was ignored by their current alpha, but quickly followed once Jacob threatened to challenge him. After Sam was taken care of, he rejoined the packs right then and there. Naming Sam his beta, and Paul his third. Upon hearing this, Leah was furious. _She_ was his beta, and he'd just replaced her. But she was quickly put to ease with his next announcement. He told the council and pack that he was making Leah his alpha female, that she was his and as far as their relationship was concerned, they could all shove it. There was no more questioning him, no more telling him what to do. From that point forward, it was Jacob's call, always. He made all the decisions and enforced any and every rule they set in place. Sue was sick at her stomach when he gave the announcement that they were going to war, and that Leah was staying behind. She could see the hurt on her daughter's face when he told them that someone had to stay with the family, and that it was her. She didn't want to, she wanted to be with him. Sue knew that Leah honestly _needed_ Jacob, not just wanted him. He'd changed her, he'd fixed her.

And then he broke her….and now he was fixing her all over again.

"Well, I guess we should head into town. I told the realtor we'd meet with her about the price and all that."

Leah looked around the house for a minute, thinking of all the time they spent there, all the time they spent wishing they were somewhere else. That they were home. She couldn't help but smile thinking of the twins. Talon had always wanted to be in La Push, from the time he was old enough to talk he knew he belonged there. Unlike Hailey, Leah believed that Talon felt such a strong need to be there for a lot of different reasons. It was more than just his want for his father. Maybe it was the alpha in him, maybe he knew he had a responsibility. Maybe it was the need to be sure he was there in case something happened to Jacob, to claim his birthright when Jacob was finished with his.

Although it worried her, she knew he wouldn't be alpha any time soon. Talon was meant to reign, but Jacob was meant to pave the way. They'd created a whole new generation, all of them were different. But Leah, just like all of them, believed that Jacob was always meant to save them. To pull them from the danger and fix their world enough to be sure that their future rulers would be safe. That they wouldn't have to deal with everything Jacob had dealt with, that they'd have peace. Something Jacob and his brothers hadn't had the luxury of experiencing.

"I'm not going to miss this place.." Leah said quietly.

Sue continued to watch her. "You have so many memories here.."

"We shouldn't have ever been here. We belong in La Push. With you, with the pack, with Jacob. We always have, I was just to angry to see it."

"You gave them a wonderful childhood. They've chosen to give it up, to be apart of what we are. You should be proud of everything you've done for them. For everything you've accomplished, on your own."

Sue gave Leah an encouraging smile, knowing deep down that she'd have never been strong enough to do what Leah did. To take care of all their families, keep them safe, and raise the two young shape shifters on her own. She'd forever admire her for it.

"I know. And I always knew they'd join. It's what they've always wanted, being with their father is all they've ever thought about. I just didn't think it'd be so soon. I guess sixteen is a year older than most, but it's hard when it's--"

"when it's yours?" Sue finished, a knowing look about her.

"Don't forget, you and Seth both phased and joined. You were twenty but he was only fifteen. I lost both my babies once too."

Leah chuckled at the thought. She and Seth weren't babies, neither were Talon and Hailey, but she'd never understood why her mother was so against it until then. Why it was different once they phased, once they joined.

"I know, I know." Leah rolled her eyes playfully. "let's go before we start getting all deep and emotional.."

Sue laughed, then nodded and began gathering things.

"I'm honestly very proud of you, Leah." Sue added while they clicked their way out the front door, their heels making simultaneous noises. "I'm proud of all of you."

"Me too." Leah smiled deviously, knowing that wasn't the answer her mother wanted, but it would have to do.

She may have changed a great deal since way back when, but she wasn't _that_ much different. She still hated mushy conversations and praises from emotional parents. It was all very sickening.

She was determined to get her life back the way she wanted it, and right now, she had to get that damn house sold. If that meant beating Derek until he agreed to sign the papers to avoid taking it to court, then so be it. She wasn't picky about how, just as long as it got done.

**

* * *

**

Keegan made his way through the woods to the spot he knew she'd be. He was human, not seeing the need to phase due to the fact that it wasn't really his turn to patrol, he just wanted to see her. But he couldn't tell

_her_ that. It was bad enough that she was so intriguing to him, he didn't need to give her the idea that it was more than just a subtle interest in her world. She was so strange, and addicting. It was hard _not_ to think about her, making his time with the pack harder than he'd have liked.

Keegan was used to things being simple. He did what he was told, he followed the rules and he stayed in line. It was all laid out for him. Pack life for him and his brothers was all about what Jeremy wanted. If he wanted them to kill an entire town, that's what they did. If he wanted them to snatch up someone and bring them to him for a hostage, they did it. For the longest time, it had all been so easy. But Keegan found himself at a stand still. He no longer wanted to do what Jeremy said, he was no longer able to shove that little voice in the back of his head away screaming at him when he was being told to do something that was morally wrong on all levels.

Meeting Hailey wasn't helping any. Jeremy often spoke about her, showed an unbelievable interest in her being. Keegan might have been able to relate, but it was different. Keegan liked her because she was something new, because she was bright and colorful. She was funny and outgoing. She wasn't afraid of him and was just as intrigued as he was. Jeremy was only interested in her because of who her father was. No matter how hard Jeremy denied it, Keegan could see through his father's bullshit. And though he really had no right, he felt inclined to keep him away from her. To protect her.

Once he reached the small space they had met in over the past few days, he could immediately smell her. He smiled lightly to himself, relieved that she was there. He hated that she had such a strong hold on him after only a few days, only a few small conversations and he was so hooked that he couldn't even focus correctly.

He caught site of her sitting on a small stump, fiddling with one of her nails. She truly was beautiful. Her hair was shoulder length, black, but with small caramel streaks. It always looked different. Sometimes strait, sometimes curled. Even when phasing and being involved with the pack she seemed so well taken care of. She was small, from head to toe. Even her facial features were small, all but her eyes.

Her eyes were big and bright, streaks of blue and green igniting them off of her bronzed skin. Her lashes, even without makeup, reached her brows when she opened her eyes. He looked her over, her bright green shorts and white tank top making her stick out like a sore thumb amongst the dark earth colors of the forest. She peeked up and glanced around her. She smelled him. He took that as his cue to enter, shoving past the last low hanging branch and immediately caught her eye.

"Good afternoon, Miss Black." He grinned.

"Hey." She smiled back, unfavorably relieved to see him.

"What did you do today?" He asked pretty enthusiastically, seating himself right on the border.

"Nothing really.." She shrugged. "..slept until like two…"

He shook his head. "Lazy ass."

"Well if I didn't stay out so late talking to _your_ sorry ass, I guess I wouldn't have to sleep till' two in the afternoon!"

He was already smiling before she could finish, and as annoying as he tended to be, she couldn't help but laugh. Her attempts to make him angry and/or upset him were always nothing short of futile. He was impossible to rile up, which, for a shape shifter, was odd.

"I'm sorry." He said through his dying laughter. "Although, I stay out just as late as you, and have to be up at the crack of dawn.."

She rolled her eyes and moved from her stump to sit in front of him, feeling more anxious than she had during their other visits. Maybe it was the odd connection she felt with him that made her nervous, she wasn't absolutely sure what it was, but the closer he was, the harder it was to keep her heart from pounding out of her chest. She'd told him that she wasn't afraid of him, but talking to Alex and knowing that he was, if fact, part of one of the stronger packs that existed was a little intimidating. Thinking about it, though, she honestly had no idea how old he was.

"How old are you?"

"Older than you."

She sighed. "Seriously. Did you go to war with them?"

"No. I hadn't phased yet." He scooted closer to the edge. "I was twelve when I phased for the first time and had to leave right after to go help them."

"So you did go to war?"

"Not really. It had been over for a year or so, my pack just hadn't got home yet because of the problems they were having with the other packs. That's when Jacob and Jeremy came up with their laws. I met up with them and helped knock off anyone who didn't agree or was still causing problems. And of course there were still stray vamps running around here and there. Nothing really died down until about six or seven years later…" He looked up and grinned. " I guess you were about…. Four or five … maybe six…when I phased… give or take.. It's hard to say."

"How did you know how old I am?" Hailey ignored their close position, now more interested in the fact that he was talking… about something worth talking about.

"You forget, our dad's have been "associates" for a very long time. He knows most everything about you all, and vise versa with your dad. Both packs know everything there is to know about each other. It's something about being allies. I don't think it's very smart, but…" He sighed and shook his head. "…what do I know? I'm just a juvenile."

He rolled his eyes at the pack term. He was most defiantly not a juvenile, he hadn't been for a long time. He was stronger than even their packs beta, his father just didn't want him in any position of authority. He didn't trust him any more than he had trusted Nashoba or Tyrone. It was a tad bit offensive what with Keegan being his son and all.

"I thought the alpha's son was supposed to be important…. Have some sort of say?"

He laughed. "That's how it works in most packs."

"Sooo…..why not with yours?"

Keegan's smile slowly faded, and she was suddenly uncomfortable again. She didn't want to push any buttons, but her curiosity really did have a mind of it's own. Instead of keeping quiet like she knew she should have, she cleared her throat, urging him to answer her. But he didn't. He stood up and moved to that small space that was no man's land, neither border meeting there to create a limit. She stared at him just standing there, running his hand through his hair, bringing her attention back to that giant scar on his neck. She followed him and like the idiot she had thought herself to be at that moment, she crossed and stood in front of him. Her action undoubtedly made him flinch, he honestly hadn't expected her to put herself within his reach. He wasn't going to hurt her, not by any means, but he still didn't feel it was safe. Maybe not well being sort of safe, but it didn't feel right.

"Well?" She dipped her head slightly, catching his eye. "You gonna answer me?"

"You just don't quit do you?" He sounded rather irritated, but not enough to scare her off.

She shook her head and grinned sheepishly. "Not really…"

He sighed. "If you _must_ know, he doesn't think that I'd lead them correctly. He doesn't like the way I think."

"the way you think?" She began laughing slightly, stopping only after a few chuckles due to his unamused expression.

"Yeah, the way I _think._" He spat. "He says I think too much."

Hailey laughed again, unable to stop this time. "How can someone think too much? I thought that was kind of the idea…to think of new ideas… new ways to do things…"

"Not in my pack. Jeremy doesn't like change… at all. He refuses to allow anything new in our pack. It's been the same as long as any of us can remember. The ones that were here before me are tired of it, but there's not much to be said. He's alpha."

Hailey shook her head, finding Jeremy's way of being a bit stupid. "So, do you live with your mom?"

"My mom's dead."

"Oh," she cringed and stepped back slightly. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know.. I--"

"How could you have known?" He smiled. "It's really not a big deal. I never knew her."

"That still doesn't make it any less painful.." She argued, not buying the _'I don't care'_ bit. "My dad's mom died when he was young. It's still hard for him and my grandfather to think about her without getting upset. It's natural to feel that way when you lose someone."

"I didn't lose her, she was never there."

"So you never think about her?"

"No."

"You never ask about her?"

"No."

"Why not?" She was getting frustrated. She knew it wasn't that simple, it wasn't for anyone. She folded her arms and shifted her weight to one hip, a gesture signifying that she was going to demand a clear answer, there was no way out of it.

"You're such a brat." He snickered.

"I am not!"

Her mouth hung wide, her face reflecting nothing but surprise. It was clear to him that nobody spoke to her that way on a regular basis. That didn't surprise him. She was beautiful and outgoing, normal people would love her. And as for pack members, even looking past all of her gorgeous and colorful traits, who would be dumb enough to speak poorly to an alpha's daughter? Other than the two idiots that were currently dead, along with their following members.

"How am I a brat?"

"You think that I'm supposed to just tell you everything you want to know… just because it's what you want…"

Hailey stared at him for a minute, trying her best to think of a way to argue his explanation. After finding no way to counter it, she just changed the subject all together.

"So who do you live with then?"

He sighed. "Is this how all our little visits are going to be?"

She flinched a little, not really finding what was wrong with her asking so many questions, but clearly seeing that he wasn't going to give up all the answers so easily.

"Well, I thought we had an agreement.."

"yeah, we did." He laughed sarcastically. "the deal was, you ask one, I ask one. I've yet to get a word in for three days."

She huffed loudly and unintentionally moved a few steps closer. "Fine then, ask away."

"What's your middle name?"

"Suzanne."

"Where do you live?"

"We have lived in Bay City, Oregon our whole lives, only coming here during holidays. But we're moving in with my dad this summer."

He felt himself growing a bit excited about that last part. He knew it didn't apply to him because after their dads got back, they'd never see each other again. But knowing that she'd be close sort of made him feel better about the separation. It was a stupid concept, and he knew he was being ridiculous, but he felt so close to her. They'd only known each other for three days, but he felt like she was his best friend.

"You don't like living with your mom?" He asked.

"Oh yeah, she's coming with us. They're back together." She grinned.

"Ah, I see." He shifted slightly, then posted himself against a large tree. "So, both of your parents are shifters?"

"Yep. She was his beta back when he first became alpha."

He laughed slightly. "Good, God. Jeremy would _never_ allow a female to be in a raking position."

"Why not?" She snorted. "and why do you call him Jeremy? I thought he was your dad?"

"He doesn't like the idea of female shifters, says they're a weak spot. In battle and inside the pack. It would cause to many problems, too many fights amongst each other." He explained. "I don't believe that having a kid makes you a father."

She drew her eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Anybody can have a damn kid, it's not that hard. Jeremy is my dad, he got my mom pregnant, married her and all that great mess. But that doesn't mean that he's truly my father. I believe you have to earn it. Just like you have to earn everything else."

"Do you have any kids?" She smirked when he winced, obviously uncomfortable with where she was going.

"Uh, no." He said as if she should have known. "I'm not _that_ much older than you."

She laughed. "So? Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No. I already told you imprints were off limits, you really think I'd get by with a girlfriend?"

"I don't know." She shrugged, bracing herself for her next question. "So does that mean that you've never had a girlfriend?"

He groaned loudly. "Really? Are we _really_ gonna get into this conversation?"

She had to stifle the laugh that was building. She was finally getting somewhere that made him uncomfortable, something that made him react. This may have been one of the only subjects that did so, and she wasn't about to give it up so easily.

"What's the big deal? It's just a question." She grinned and sat down, never taking her eyes off of him.

"You barely know me and you're asking these questions like you have some sort of right to know…" He scolded.

She frowned at his sudden change in attitude. "Look, I don't know why I like talking to you, and I have no idea why I cant seem to keep myself away when I know you'll be here. But I _do_ know that as long as you keep coming here, and as long as we both keep asking questions, the boundaries are limitless. You never said that there were things you would rather not discuss, if you're uncomfortable with something, you should have let me know before… now answer."

He found himself glaring at her. She was so stubborn, and nosey as hell. Why were they even asking all these questions? Neither of them should be there, so why in the world would they care about these stupid things? They'd never see each other again after a few days, anyway. With that in mind, he decided that if she wanted to know, he'd tell her. Weather she liked the truth or not was unimportant.

"I have no imprint, and I've never had a girlfriend."

She cocked an eyebrow.

"What?" He asked.

"I just cant believe that."

"And why not?"

"Because you're… well-- I guess I just mean that it's hard for me to believe that someone like… _you_, could be single for his entire life.."

He wanted to laugh. He hadn't been entirely sure what she meant, but he was catching on. That didn't mean he was going to let her get off without explaining it to him. Seeing her squirm was pretty much the highlight of his day.

"I still don't quite understand."

Instead of sitting in front of her, he took the seat beside her, easing himself slowly to the ground to avoid scaring the shit out of her. He may have been more comfortable around her than anyone else, but that didn't mean the feeling went both ways. He still wasn't quite sure what to make of her position with him, what she thought and if she truly was afraid. She said she wasn't, but that's what everyone said right before they screamed their heads off when you move the wrong way, or piss themselves when you accidentally yell at them. It had happened a few times, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling. He may have been conditioned to not care, but that didn't mean the conditioning worked.

"Oh, come on!" She complained, nudging him with her elbow. "you know what I mean!"

"Nope, I don't." He raised his knees and propped his elbows on them, turning his head so he could see her.

She peeked over at him and sighed. "I just meant that, well I guess you're pretty attractive, and I know that the guys in my pack get _a lot _of attention because of their physique and whole _'tall dark and handsome'_ thing. I just figured you would be sort of like them in ways…"

He dug his face into his knees and laughed. "Oh my god… you really are something else.."

She rolled her eyes and growled, turning her head away from him. "shut up."

"Oh, don't get mad." He eased, hitting her shoulder with his. "I was just messing with you. I've never had a "girlfriend" but I've been with a few. They just weren't what some may call official. We don't get to hang out with people on our rez or in the cities around it. The only times I'm around any females is when I do details in other cities and Jeremy isn't around… well and now of course… with you."

Hailey was once again pulled back into the conversation. "So the only people you're ever around are your pack members?"

"Yep."

"That sucks." She rested her head on her knees, watching him carefully.

"Yeah I guess. You get used to it though. It's hardest when you're first joining, when you have to leave all your friends and family. After a few years it's all good again. You just forget how it was before."

"That's sort of…-- sad." She crinkled her nose and frowned.

He mimicked her rested position so that their faces were directly in front of one another. It really was sort of sad, he'd known that for a very long time, and felt it more often than not. But it was just one of those things, those screwed up situations life throws your way with no way around it. It wasn't like he could do anything about it, he was what he was, and although their pack could most defiantly change for the better, he had almost no hope that it would. Jeremy was dead set on keeping things miserable for all of them. Talking with Hailey really made it clear. But he wasn't upset. He didn't blame her for bringing it up and making him see how fucked up his life was, it was the truth. He stared into her eyes, wondering what was going on inside her head. What she was thinking. Of course he still didn't feel comfortable asking, though she would undoubtedly ask without hesitation, so he just watched her.

"I guess so." He finally replied. "But it will be okay one day."

"So I guess I'm your only friend, huh?" She grinned triumphantly, as if she'd won some sort of award. "Outside of your pack I mean."

Keegan sat up and sighed. "yeah, friend for a week."

She understood then, and she felt it too. A small sting that reverberated through her body when mentioning him not being around. She had no idea what it was, or what it meant, but it was there. She hated the thought of him not being close, of not seeing him every night. It was a bit twisted seeing as she barely knew the guy. He could quite possibly be just as dangerous as Nashoba or Tyrone had been to her, but she couldn't shake him.

"You don't know that. Just because they come home doesn't mean that we cant still meet. No not everyday or in the same place, but I'm sure we could figure it out."

Hailey wanted to punch herself in the face. Not only was she breaking some stupid rules, she was putting herself in a position to do exactly what she'd promised herself she wouldn't. She was initiating a way to further play out whatever it was the two of them had going on. She was giving him incentive to believe that she was at all interested in him. Even though she sort of was, for some strange and unexplainable reason, she didn't want him to think that.

He turned and looked at her like she was insane. "Do you know how much trouble you could get in for talking to me?"

"Yes."

"What do you think will happen if your dad finds out?" He asked condescendingly.

"He'll probably get mad an--"

"Get _mad_?" He turned his upper body to face her. "That doesn't even qualify. He'd get mad at you for glancing at me, he'd get furious that you _spoke_ to me, he'd blow a fucking lid if he found out you were _meeting_ me… I don't even want to think about what he'd do if he knew you got so close to me."

He gestured in between them with his hand. She followed his gaze to the small space in between them. She rolled her eyes and scooted closer, pressing her body against his and patting his knee.

"Look, I know that things are run differently in your pack.." She began. "I'm not saying that my dad wouldn't get pissed about all this, but I can almost promise that he wouldn't blow up about it. He's more understanding than you apparently think."

Keegan groaned. "If you say so."

He suddenly felt like running. She was making things complicated, he wasn't good with complicated. Their little meeting was going to have to be cut short.

"Well, I have to go. I swapped patrols with one of my brothers and need to get going.."

She frowned. "Mhmm."

"Oh, quit." He shoved her head as he stood. "You're being a baby."

"Whatever, I'll see you later."

She began to walk away, a gesture that frustrated him to no end. Why it bothered him so much he'd never know. He caught her arm before she passed back over the border, pulling her back to meet him.

"Look, I really do have to go.. I'll meet you back here tomorrow." He waited for a response, but got none, not even eye contact. "I promise?"

She peeked up at him. "Why are you really leaving?"

He sighed. "I just-- I don't want to talk anymore."

"why?"

"I don't do this a lot… it's tiring having to answer so many questions about things that nobody gives a shit about."

"I give a shit."

He still had her arm in his hand, her body was still pressed up against him. Enough so that when he began to laugh she felt it.

"I'll bet you do."

"I really do." She said quietly.

"You don't know me enough to care about me."

"Who are you to tell me who I care about?" She barked. "If I say I do, then I do. I don't have to know you inside and out to be able to tell that you're a good person."

"I am _not_ a good person." He argued, unswayed by her attempts to get him to stay.

"You're good enough for me." She poked him in the chest. "I like you, I think you're quite interesting."

He moaned and rolled his eyes dramatically. "You're crazy, you know that?"

"Mhmm." She gave him the biggest, toothiest smile he'd ever seen. "Now quit being a such a downer, I kind of enjoy this time, don't ruin it for me."

She took the time that he was actually being swayable and glanced back at the large scar on his neck. Instead of initiating a conversation about it, seeing as he was apparently tired of talking, she took her hand and slowly raised it up to his neck. She watched his face carefully, noticing immediately when he began to flinch backwards. She shook her head and placed two fingers on his jaw bone, softly trailing them to his ear, then slowly down to his neck. When she reached the scar she didn't wince or cringe, she just traced the teeth marks and trails leading to the other teeth marks, never letting on that it looked horrifyingly painful. She didn't think it was nasty, she just couldn't imagine getting a wound like that.

"What are you doing?" He finally said, almost to low for her to hear.

"I just wanted to feel it.."

"Why?"

"I have no idea. I've wanted to since I first saw you."

He shook his head and stared at her in disbelief. She really was strange.

"You're so weird."

She smiled. "I know, and you love it."

He huffed. "Someone's full of herself."

"No, I just know that you wouldn't have stuck around for the last few days if you didn't like something about me."

She laughed at him as he rolled his eyes and placed a hand over the one she still had on his neck. They sat there for a minute, awkward and uncomfortable, but neither removing their grip.

"I really do have to go now, it's getting late." He said in the same quiet tone.

"So?"

"I'm tired.." He almost whined. "..I don't get to sleep till' two in the afternoon.."

"Why not?" She smirked as she asked, knowing she was beginning to frustrate him.

"None of us do. We have to be up at dawn."

"Hmm." She pondered, still running her fingers over the dents in his skin. "I'd hate getting up that early. I cant stand getting up at seven to go to school."

He didn't respond this time, she knew he was finished for the night. If he didn't respond with a sarcastic or offensive remark, that usually meant he wasn't going to respond at all. She looked up and caught his eye, moving her hand to trace the circles under his eyes.

"You don't have to meet me tomorrow…" She said softly. "..you could just go get some sleep."

He smiled widely. "nah, I'd have to be out here anyway. Plus, seeing you is the only interesting thing that happens in my day."

For the first time in who knows how long, she felt herself starting to blush. She looked down and shifted her feet slightly. What a dork. All he said was that she was interesting, and she was acting as if he'd given her the nicest compliment on record.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow." He said when she didn't respond.

"Alright… see ya then." She smiled, but didn't move.

He shook his head and sighed. She really was going to be the death of him. He took her hands and removed them from his neck and chest, placing them at her sides. Then, against his own will of course, he dipped down and kissed her cheek slowly. She closed her eyes and relaxed under him, not a trace of nerves or anxiety left in her. He pressed his cheek to hers and nuzzled it slightly while pulling away, tucking her hair behind her ears once he had. She couldn't keep the stupid grin off her face. He was still close, his forehead almost touching hers.

"Goodnight." He said softly.

"Night…"

He pulled his fingers from her hair and crossed over to his side, glancing back once before disappearing into the darkness. Hailey's heart was pounding out of her chest, her head was on the verge of exploding. What the hell had just happened? Technically, nothing, but it sure as hell felt like something. She turned and crossed the border, snatching up her phone from the ground and taking off in her house's direction. Whatever she'd once promised herself about keeping she and Keegan's situation simple, was then thrown out the window. She had to figure out what was going on, and if that meant telling her mother, then so be it.

* * *

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**a/n. Soooooooooooo! Keegan and Hailey took up most of this chapter. Sorry it took so long, I've been a bit busy. Anywho, next chapter will bring Jacob back in, of course Hailey and Keegan, mixed with a little Leah. (: Please review and let me know what ya think! **

**Okay, aside from the story, I have something I want you all to check out. I just joined a site, message me or ask for it in a review and I'll send it to ya. -- it's a site focused around Jacob and the wolf pack, stories, news, gallery.. All that great stuff. It's a great site and I wanted all of you blackwater readers to know that I'm going to be moving over there soon and posting there instead of on here. The site requires that you are 18 or older because of mature stories and such. My name on there is Cucumber07, just like on here. So come on and follow me over there, I promise you guys will love it! (:**


	28. Then, and Now

You're so different when you're like this, when you're not pretending to hate life and everyone in it. Honestly, I like you better this way, but I would never have the courage to tell you. You think that you're fine the way you are, that being hateful and miserable all the time is the best way to deal with the hurt. I cant tell you you're wrong, because I don't know for sure. We deal with it differently, you and I, and I cant seem to figure which one of us is more unhappy. I have responsibilities that keep me from dwelling, that keep me from having to relive every memory over and over again trying to find the exact moment where I went wrong, where I drove her away. She's so cold now, and your warmth always seems to make her memory die along with everything that she once was. It's hard to believe that we've come so far from what we became after our hearts were broken, after our worlds were torn apart. I can understand some of your pain, but some of it is just too deep for me to see, for me to try and fix. It amazes me how strong you are, how beautiful and smart you can be when you're not pulled into all the bullshit we deal with. I hate seeing you so unhappy, so lost and tormented. I never wanted this. I never wanted to be with you this way, hell, I never dreamed of it. I hated you for so long. Most of it was because you had the strength to do what I couldn't. You told him how much you hated him, you spat in his face and stomped on his pride. You flaunt your body and confidence in front of him with nothing but assurance, watching him squirm is the highlight of your day. I couldn't do that, I still cant. Even after being with you and finding some sort of release, I couldn't push her out of my head, out of my heart.

I don't dream of her anymore. Not even nightmares. Instead, I have nightmares of you. We're together, like we are now, but you always leave. I see us together in the woods, like I'm someone else for a short while, and when we're finished with our nightly regiment, instead of staying, you get up and run away. I cant explain to you how much it hurts to see you go, to feel myself there alone without your warmth, without your heart. You yell and scream at me when I bring it up, but I know that I have it. Deep down, you know too. I never wanted to believe that I could love someone like you, someone so much like me. It scared me because I hated myself for what I allowed to happen, how weak I was when it came down to that moment. I couldn't fight for her and it made me think that I wasn't strong enough to fight for anyone, that I was just too childish and afraid to ever be that person. I was afraid that if I ever had to fight again, that I'd just repeat what happened with her. I watch you sleep sometimes, cherishing the moments when I can look at you and really appreciate what I have without you getting angry. You say that nobody should ever look at you like that again, that you wont allow another look like that to ruin your life a second time. You don't let me touch you when we're around people, when we're not in the woods. You wont even let me come into your house, into your room. I've offered mine before, but you shot it down just like the rest of my suggestions. You say you don't want strings, that you cant afford another heartbreak, and that I'd be worse because you'd have nowhere left to go. It'd be either me or Sam and you just cant do that to yourself. I respect that. I honestly do.

I don't like showing you just how far I've fallen for you because I'm afraid it will drive you away, but I'm not going to sit back and watch something or someone take you away from me. Not like I did before, not like I've done a thousand times. It's always been right in front of me, taunting me and screaming for me to do something, but I never did. I was afraid. I was stupid. I'll never make that mistake again. I'll never be that weak, not ever. We're not so different, you and I. We understand each other on so many levels, and I know that I could save you. You say that you're beyond saving, that you're too far gone. I don't believe it. I see you every night in a way that nobody could ever even imagine. You're so bright when we're together, when you're not afraid. It could be like this, you know? Always. You would never have to be afraid again, not as long as I'm with you. I'll always protect you, I'll always be there for you, even when you think I'm not. I could never hurt you, not on purpose. To everyone else, you're this ill tempered, calloused bitch that cant keep her temper in check to save her life. But not to me. You are those things, bad names and insults times ten… fifteen… but there's so much more and I see it all the time. I see a girl that likes to eat her Ramen Noodles dry in a bowl with the powder at the bottom so she can dip the crunchy pieces. I see a girl that would kill someone for covering her feet up at night. I see a girl that loves butterfly kisses, and raspberries blown on her stomach. I see a girl that loves her brother more than she'd ever be willing to admit and would do anything for him, even join some idiots pack just to be sure he's safe.

I see a girl that likes candles and hates bubble baths. Baths are disgusting and a complete waste of time, why not just shower? I see a girl that likes to be cooked for and would rather spend a night out under the stars than go see a movie. I see a girl that melts whenever she's with me, a girl that lets her true colors come out only when I'm around. I see you relax when I walk in the room, and the way you flock to me when you're uncomfortable at one of Sam and Emily's get-togethers. I always feel that soft brush when you walk by, or the way you try to nonchalantly wrap your arm under mine even when we're in public. Of course, the moment I move to let you get closer, you pull away. But I always feel it. I feel everything. You're heartbeat, every breath, every pump of blood that runs through you, every stray hair that's blown. Every move you make, every step you take, every smile you fake, every tear that falls, every time you call… I feel everything. You're voice puts me to sleep at night, and wakes me up in the morning. Your face is the only thing that can make me smile on a bad day, the only thing that brings me back to reality when she tries to suck me into her world again. We've never talked about how we truly feel because you say it's pointless, that you have nothing to give me. You say you cant have kids and that you'll never be that obedient housewife. I tell you that I don't need any of that. That I cant stand women like Emily who do whatever their asked and stay locked up in their houses all day. I don't care about kids, not enough to end something that could potentially make me happy.

I want you to see that you're perfect the way you are. That maybe your way of working through your problems isn't politically correct, but it works for you, and for me. I love all of your quirky insults and quick but hurtful comebacks. I love the way you never let any of the guys talk shit or boss you around, and I love the way they're so scared of you. I like seeing you covered in dirt and wearing nothing but shorts and a tank top, your hair a fucked up mess. I love it when you cuss, I love it when you throw the first punch. I love it when you get so mad that your face turns red and I can just see the murderous thoughts running across your eyes. I love the way you scrunch your nose when you're to mad to speak, or the way your brows crinkle in the middle when you're trying to hide that you're mad. I finding you in wolf form and getting to see how fucking amazing you are even when a giant animal. I love everything about you.

But you know what I hate? I hate that nothing I do is ever good enough. I hate that no matter how hard I try or how far I push myself to be what you want, it's never what you need. You always compare me to him. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad. Sometimes you cant even look at me after we have sex because you're thinking of him. It's better nowadays, now that we've completely cut ourselves off from them. But it still bothers me to think that you're thinking of him while with me, that you may wish that it was him instead. I didn't care a few months ago. Hell, I wished every time I met you in the woods in the same exact spot, that you were her. But not anymore. You're good enough for me. You're everything I need. You don't let me get away with my stupid baby shit, you make me who I _need_ to be. I don't want her anymore. I don't need her anymore. She's nothing to me. She's dead, literally. I don't know why I'm doing this, I'm sure it wont turn out how I want it to, but I had to tell you. I have to make you see that we can be happy, just like them. We don't have to be the two bitter ex's, we could be happy again. We are every time we're together, so why leave? Why should I ever walk away from you again wondering if you're going to change your mind, when I know that we're both happy as a pair?

You feel it too, I know it. You can hide things from the others, even Seth, but you cant hide from me. Not anymore. Things are going to change from this point forward. Everything is going to change. I want you, only you. I don't want to have to sneak away to the woods every night, I want to fuck you in a bed, on the couch, on the kitchen counter, in the shower. I want to be there with you when you wake up and be the one holding you when you go to sleep. We can be so much more than this, I promise you we can. All that pain, all that hurt, it goes away when I see you. I don't have to feel that way anymore, and neither do you. If you just let go, if you just let me be what you need, I'll do it. All day, every day for the rest of our fucked up eternal lives. You're mine, and you know it. You always have been. You don't belong with him or with anyone else. We should have seen it sooner, you know? Saved ourselves a lot of heartache. I know you trust me, so trust me when I tell you this. I know that you may shove it all back in my face and never speak to me again, but for what it's worth, I love you.

You're squirming now, running your feet and fingers through the dirt. You look so beautiful in the moonlight. Maybe you wont kill me in the morning when you realize that I'm suggesting a relationship. That I'm telling you I love you and I want you forever. Maybe I'll get to see you like this always. Hey, I guess all I can do is hope, huh? I'm going to sleep now, so goodnight, and again… I love you.

With every piece of me. I'll always be here for you, no matter what. We'll be what they weren't, we'll give what they didn't. And we'll be happy…..you'll see.

Love always,

Jacob Black.

She watched as a single tear hit the last page of the letter. She didn't really know why she was crying, reading what he wrote so long ago brought back all of her great memories of him. Maybe it was exactly that that bothered her so much. He should still be that way. His smile should still reach his eyes, but it doesn't. His laugh should still noticeably come from deep down in his soul, making everyone around him happy even when sad, but it doesn't. He shouldn't look so tired all the time, he shouldn't seem so broken. He shouldn't stay up for days at a time refusing to sleep, working himself half to death without a word or complaint, but he does. He shouldn't feel like everything is his fault, that everyone and everything is his responsibility. She shouldn't be able to look at him every so often and notice that he's not really there. His body is, his façade is, but he's not. Not really. His eyes are distant, so distant that they seem almost empty. He goes through the motions and pretends that everything is okay, but you can see it sometimes, late at night when he's so tired that he cant pretend anymore, he's in pain. She always felt like she was the one that should be hurt, that she was the one that should be up late at night with her heart pounding out of her chest from the constant suffering. But it was him. She noticed when he didn't come to bed some nights. She'd get up and find him outside sitting at one of the many picnic tables set up in the backyard with Sam or Paul, working or fiddling with an engine or some other car part. He was different when he was with them, when he was amongst his brothers. He seemed stronger, more confident, at home. It was when he was with their family that he was most uncomfortable.

He tried to pretend, but everyone could see. The slightest touch or loud noise and he was on edge. The pack members merely watched him for a moment, then returned to what they were doing. She sat back most days, watching his behavior, watching Sam and Paul with him. One of them were always with him, like they felt the same way he did. Sam always stayed close, always watched. They were all so different then she remembered them. They all seemed a little haunted sometimes, but not like him. They carried on with their day to day lives, none of it really affected by whatever they had going on in their minds. But she could see it on his face when he'd get tired of being around the family, when he needed an escape. He'd say he was patrolling, that he needed to be sure nobody had been through. She knew that was a lie. He was never on the circuits when he said he'd be, she'd checked. Embry says he needs time to think, he needs time to be alone. But for what? What is so private that he cant share it with his father, his family, her? Embry says that he needs time, that some things just cant be forgotten. Maybe he's right, maybe she was being selfish. She wanted his time. She wanted his attention, but it was so hard for him to give it. When they were alone, he seemed almost wary. Like he was waiting to wake up or for her to disappear.

She could always see his mind working, like something was constantly playing over and over again without end, without rest. She just couldn't understand why he couldn't talk to her. That letter was a reminder of what they'd once had, of what they'd shared and how close they were. He told her everything and vise versa. Nothing was hidden, nothing was too much. Neither judged and neither laughed. They were able to say their piece, get it off their chests, knowing they were safe with each other. Now, he seemed almost completely gone. Like nothing that he once was remained inside of him anywhere. Like he was truly lost. Sue says that sometimes, people just cant deal with things they've seen or done, that no amount of comfort or support could ever make it better. But she didn't believe that. He was the one that made her see that support is what they needed, it's what she'd needed. He was there for her, and she recovered from a lifetime of misery jumbled in a few years time. He helped her, he loved her, he saved her. She thought she'd saved him, but he seemed worse now than ever before. How could you save someone that refused help? Someone that refused to even address that there is something _to _address? He was so defensive, so angry. His temper was so much worse than she'd remembered. And although he did everything he could to mask it, she knew what to look for.

She missed him so much. After being with him and talking over some of the biggest issues, then agreeing to not only get back together, but move in together, she'd thought that things would change. She could see him trying, almost too hard sometimes, to be what he knew she remembered. But she could see the veneer, and she could see all the anguish behind it. She wanted him back, she wanted _them_ back. She'd wasted enough time being angry at him for something that he had no control over, she wasn't going to waste anymore by keeping her mouth shut. She knew it was risky, and that she was probably picking a bad time, but it had to be done. Jacob, Paul and Sam needed help. Paul wasn't as bad as Sam, Sam wasn't as bad as Jacob, but they all needed something. Whatever it was that plagued them needed to be addressed. He needed to be able to tell her what was wrong and let her know when it was too much. That's how they'd done it before, that's how they'd made it through what, at the time, was the hardest part of their lives. She didn't expect things to be fixed within a day, but she was home again. This time, it was her that had to fix him. He never caved or gave up on her when she told him she hated him and never wanted to see him again, she supposed that his silence wouldn't be as trying on her shield. He was going to be angry with her, but that was alright. As long as things were surfaced and pushed in the right direction, she'd take it.

She lay silently in his room, on his bed, with his letter in her hand. It was cool in his room, like it always was, but it felt freezing without him there. His bedroom was large, but seemed like an empty hole when he was gone. She suddenly wished she'd waited until she was sure he was back before returning. She placed the letter on the bedside table and turned off the lamp, rolling over so that she was facing the door. The covers were wrapped around her bare skin, her bra and boy shorts the only material between her and complete nakedness. She always slept better the less clothes she had on, but something about him not being there made her keep those few items on. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun on the back of her head, the hair-bow pressing roughly against her scalp, pulling the hairs that were tied into it. She hated sleeping with her hair up, but she didn't want it all over her either. The moment that texting him crossed her mind, she heard his footsteps. No matter how long she was away from him, she could never mistake his footsteps. Strong and confident, almost arrogant, on the hardwood floor.

She listened as they climbed the stairs, stopping briefly, then continuing until they reached the door. There was a pause, and then the slow, almost silent, creak of the door. His body moved with it, obviously trying to be quiet. It was late, she should have been asleep. His scent hit her and she closed her eyes. All worry and doubt, anxiety and fear, loneliness and self-consciousness was pulled from her merely by his smell. His piney, campfire, outdoors, musky sort of smell that was only Jacob. She heard the door close and the sound of him battling with his shoes. They clunked to the floor and he cursed under his breath. She heard his shirt come off next, slowly creeping up his body and over his head, the next to hit the floor. He moved to the other side of the bed, his belt buckle clinking as he worked quickly at the button and zipper of his pants. His socks came off next, both of them hitting the floor simultaneously as he slid out of his jeans, the buckle loudly clanking against the hardwood. His side of the bed sunk in with his weight as he slipped himself under the sheets beside her, his arms immediately around her waist, his groin immediately against her ass, his chest and stomach immediately pressing against her back. He tangled his legs tightly into hers, his face slowly buried into her neck. He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes as he familiarized himself with her smell.

She felt him pull her closer to him, his hand roaming her stomach curiously. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't speak. He had overtaken her, he'd won again. She knew what was coming next, she could feel it in the way he was holding himself. If she could see his eyes she already knew what they'd look like. That primal, animalistic gaze he held while thinking of all the ways he could take her. Being who she was, she dominated ninety nine percent of the time. She liked it that way, she liked to be in control. But sometimes, times like these, she wouldn't fight him. Deep down, she knew he was the boss, that he was truly the alpha and at one point or another, he was going to dominate her. She was going to submit. She used to deny the way her wolf came out while she was human, all the ways that their inner animal controlled their behaviors. But she knew that it was who they were, that they were honestly a pack more than a family. She kept her eyes closed as he slid his hand past the brim of her shorts, grazing the very tip of her lips before planting the first kiss. He lifted himself slightly, trailing those short, sweet kisses up her neck and grabbing hold of her ear with his teeth. She moaned quietly, her breath immediately taken by a single nip. He pushed his hips forward, digging his groin further into her ass. He slowly slid a finger past her lips and grazed it across her clit before finally reaching her opening. He bit his lip roughly feeling how wet she already was, suppressing the growl he felt building.

He pushed her legs open easily with his knee, taking the one finger and slowly sliding it into her wet center up to his knuckle. He kept his face close to hers, her quiet moans arousing him even more. Keeping the finger inside of her, he moved it around slowly, reintroducing himself to her core. The more he wiggled and moved it, the wetter and more active she became. He couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face, a single finger pulling such a reaction from her was pretty amusing. He inserted a second finger, beginning to slowly pull them in and out, exiting to his finger tips, reentering to his knuckles. He lifted himself onto his elbow, pulling her so that she was laying flat on her back. She opened her eyes slowly, his finger's pace picking up quickly as he watched her carefully. His face was hard, intimidating. She remembered that look. He brought his lips down to hers and shoved his tongue into her mouth, immediately taking control over hers. He continued to kiss her while removing his fingers and rolling on top of her, lifting her back slightly to unclasp her bra, slinging it to join his clothes on the floor. He took one breast greedily in his hand, quickly moving his mouth to her nipple, sucking and nipping roughly. She arched her back, her hands clasping the covers for support they didn't offer.

He may have had the intention of going slow, but he was finished with the idea after a few minutes. Neither were ever ones for teasing. He sat up and pulled her underwear down her legs, then his, tossing them to the side. She felt that urge again, the one she always had that told her she was in control, that she had to keep it. She tried to roll him over, to take the lead, but he shoved her back down. Startled by his defiance, she tried again, pushing harder this time. He pinned her down. He ran his nose up her jaw bone, tracing it until he reached her ear. He licked it lightly, then drug his cheek across hers until his teeth caught her bottom lip. He began growling loudly before releasing one of her hands and running his down her side, tracing a line across her hip and to her thigh. He grasped it tightly, lifting it and holding it up against his hip. She felt his dick pressing against her clit, the slightest movement forcing her to moan. She could feel the heat pouring off of herself, she felt it on her thighs, in her lower stomach, in her chest. She tried to move again, to sit up, but he refused. He slowly slid his tip inside of her, gradually allowing the rest to follow. Once completely inside, he gave her a minute to adjust, sucking furiously at her neck. She felt him everywhere. Her hands, her neck, her chest, her stomach, her thighs, her pussy. He began moving in and out at a steady pace, her loud moans matching them perfectly. She arched her hips, he shoved them back down. She tried to drop her leg, he held it in place.

He began thrusting harder, jolting her entire body every time he connected. She gripped his back, digging her nails deep into the skin. It didn't take the edge away. Her stomach was burning, she was so close. She moved her hands to his head and pulled him to her, her half screams filling his mouth, his name flowing off her lips after every other sound she made. She reached breaking point, screaming his name as she rode her climax to the fullest extent. His dick became noticeably slicker while she came, enhancing everything he was feeling ten fold. He sat up and flipped her over, taking hold of her hips and shoving her onto his cock. She could feel another one coming on as he pumped harder, faster. He leaned down as he continued, and bit her neck. It only made her that much louder. He kept hold of her neck as he slid a hand in between her legs, rubbing her clit in pace with his still almost painful thrusts. She felt like she was going to go cross-eyed. She could hear him growing close as she came again, hard and long. She was still riding hers when his hit, his hold on her neck finally breaking skin, his dick filling her up until she was overflowing with both of their juices. She could feel it running down her inner thighs as he slowly pushed in a few more times, both of their bodies shaking, both of their breathing out of control. He collapsed on top of her, not pulling out, but removing his hold on her neck.

His breath poured over her, relaxing all of her crazed muscles. He pulled out, and rolled to the side, pulling her chest to his. He kissed her forehead and made his way down to her neck, softly licking the bleeding bite marks. She closed her eyes as he ran his hands all over her, kissing anywhere he could reach, rubbing anywhere he wasn't kissing. She still remembered everything she'd been thinking of before he entered, but she couldn't bring it up. Not yet. Not when he was like this. She felt right when he was like this, when he was so close to how he used to be. When he seemed happy. She could feel it radiating off him, like she was sure he could feel it on her. She'd never felt so in place as she did when with him. It always felt so right, so perfect, so planned. Like he was truly who she was supposed to be with. They didn't speak, he just continued taking all of her in any way he could. She wrapped an arm around his neck, burying her face between his neck and the pillow while he kept on with his exploration. Every touch seemed new, setting fire to whatever place his fingers were tracing. She could have stayed like that forever, pretended that there was no such thing as tomorrow. That there were no problems. And until the sun peeked through the dark curtains he had up, she would. She'd ignore all of their problems for a little while, allow what little peace they could manage for the time being. Being with him, like they were right then, was what kept her with him at all. Remembering how perfect they were together, and exactly how much she loved him, kept her hopes that they would be alright afloat.

"I love you, Leah." He said from her neck through soft kisses, his voice muffled but strong.

"I know." She said, closing her eyes, the four words knocking her breath from her chest. "I love you too."

* * *

**a/n. alright, so if you didn't get it, the first part was a letter from Jacob to Leah from back when they first got together. This chapter was mostly from Leah, a little of Jacob was thrown in towards the end. ;) I know I didn't really address any of what was going on in the last chapter, and I apologize for that. This just came to me and I started typing away. Next chapter will be the day after Leah and Jacob both got home. So so so so sorry it took so long for me to get this up! I wont be this late with anymore chapters I was just completely stuck with this one. I kept writing for Blackout hoping that I'd break ground but until this I just had no idea how to continue on with the story. I'm good now though so updates should be coming out a lot quicker. **

**As for those of you who don't have accounts here and want that site I was talking about.. It's Jacob black - n - pack . Ning . Com**

**Without the spaces and capitals though. Look for me over there my name is Cucumber07 just like on here, the only story I've got up over there is Blackout for right now but I'll be transferring them all slowly. I WILL continue updating over here for those of you who cant or don't want to switch. Thanks so much to all of you reading, PLEASE leave a review and let me know what you think! Loves to all of you! Oh and if any of you need any help with the other site setting up or anything else just message me either over here or over there and I'll be happy to help! Emails come strait to my phone so I'll be with you immediately. If you have questions and cant get me here or there for some reason my email is monica _ gross 10 yahoo . com ...again without spaces. ****Thx again! =)**


	29. One Forward, Two Back

She'd fallen asleep on his chest, curled comfortably inside his tight embrace. Her thoughts from before he arrived were briefly forgotten, until she woke up that is. The sound of the window unit in his room jolted her from her sleep, revealing the empty space beside her. His spot was cold, confirming her suspicion that he'd been up for a while. Peeking over at the clock, she groaned realizing it was only seven fifteen in the morning. Why in the world was he up? He hadn't arrived until well past one and they'd stayed up long after that. She hated the way it upset her, the way it caused her heart to constrict and her stomach to turn. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, she should have been used to it, but it was different somehow. She lay face up on the bed, staring at the ceiling until around seven thirty, torturing herself with thoughts of everyone else in the house hearing what went on the night before. How could she have forgotten her own _kids_ in the house? The more she thought about it the hotter her face burned, there were at least three pack members in his house at all times. She had long been over being teased by them for screwing their alpha, she wasn't too adamant about reliving it.

Finally, she let out one last loud groan and flung the covers to the side, sitting herself up on the edge of the bed. She shuffled to the bathroom to shower, finishing up quickly and tiptoeing down the stairs. She wasn't looking forward to seeing anyone, and was fairly stunned when the living room was completely empty. She crept down the hall and found Talon and Hailey's rooms also empty. She quickly racked her brain trying to remember if they had something planned that day and she'd forgotten, but was coming up completely blank. She decided on calling Sue to be sure, but was stopped when she reached the kitchen. Jacob was seated at the table, a large towel spread across it, pieces of a car motor scattered all over. She couldn't get over how amazing he still looked to her, his dark blue shirt clung to his chest and shoulders, his hair neatly ruffled on his head. He looked adorable. She stood in the door way, posted against the wall with her arms folded, his face reflecting all that she'd been thinking of the night before. She didn't want to argue with him today. If they had the house to themselves, she would have rather sat in a peaceful silence with him then ruin both of their moods by bringing up something testy.

"Mornin" She greeted.

He peeked up from whatever he was doing, throwing her a small grin. "Good morning."

"What time did you get up?" She quizzed, still watching him carefully.

"Eh, I'd say about five or six. I have to get this done before this evening and have it back to the garage."

She nodded. "Need any help?"

"No." He replied shortly.

"Kay, well, you hungry?"

"Already ate."

She sighed and tried her best to ignore the short and cut off sentences. Making her way across the kitchen, she rummaged through the fridge and pulled out everything she needed to make a sandwich. As she was cutting the crust off the bread the silence began to eat at her. Maybe her previous thought was reversed. Maybe she would have rather fought with him than sit in any sort of silence, peaceful or not. It was beginning to seem that way.

"Where is everyone?" She broke the eerie calm, giving the sound of the clinking metal some sort of company.

"Hay and Talon spent the night at Sue's, all of them were going swimming today. You could probably still catch them, or meet them there, if you want."

Her attention had been pulled back to him while he was speaking. He never looked up from the greasy looking hunk of junk. She started getting the feeling that maybe he wanted her to go. That would have explained the short attitude and suggestion…. Eh, who was she kidding? Since when did she ever do what someone else wanted? She'd made a promise to herself the night before, and even if it meant throwing down with him in his kitchen, she was going to keep it. Through all the sudden courage and determination, she still couldn't push the small sense of rejection away. It was silly for her to feel that way, childish even. He was with her, had told her how he felt countless times, yet these small shrug offs he was giving her were hitting her as hard as a brick wall would had she been running towards it. Maybe she had grown out of all that and suddenly wasn't used to it anymore, maybe she wanted more from him now that things were so different? It had occurred to her a few times over the last few days that she was truly tired of fighting when it came to matters of the heart, and somehow, now that she'd given in, he was pulling away. She didn't want to piss him off, she didn't really feel ready for one of their knockdown, drag out brawls they'd had so many times before when they were first starting all of this. He was much different now, noticeably so, and she wasn't sure she felt comfortable pushing him that far. Did she think he'd hurt her? No, not on purpose. But shape shifters aren't known for their self control, even ones as experienced as Jacob. She wouldn't want to have to explain to her kids later how half her face got ripped off or something of the sort.

"Nah, I think I'll just stay here today." She said before taking the first bite of her sandwich.

Her ass was propped against the counter, one foot flung over the other, as she ate. He looked up, then, a mixture of surprise and maybe irritation fluttering across his face.

"You sure?"

His voice was so overbearing when you were getting ready to make him mad. Honestly, he was fairly intimidating, even to her. She smiled and nodded, not receiving any sort of response. He just turned his attention back to what he was doing, leaving her to her sandwich. She used the few minutes it took to finish her food to figure out how she was going to go about getting started on her little plan. Though, her attention kept reverting back to the fact that they'd had such a good night and he's now acting like he barely knows her. It was petty and not something she wanted to bring up, but it was starting to feel like a one night stand gone terribly wrong. The kind where you sleep over at the guy's house then wake up with nothing but awkwardness clouding the room, mixing a little bit of one sided emotions in there. She was playing the loving girlfriend, he was playing the distant '_I don't give a shit_' boyfriend. It was pretty pathetic seeing as they'd known each other their entire lives, relationship or not, she deserved more than what he was giving her.

"I'm pretty positive." She answered dryly, crossing the room and taking the seat directly across from him. He peeked up at her and gave her an indescribable look, one that she'd never seen before, before turning back to his task.

"So what's bugging you?" She asked quietly, beginning to feel way more nervous than she should have.

"Nothing." He kept his eyes glued to the table, his answer short and void of anything other than boredom.

"C'mon Jake.." She began, easing her head around to look at his face. "..obviously something's bothering you."

He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, soon ignoring her presence all together. She sat for a few moments, watching him as he pretended she wasn't there, a very childish and immature behavior for someone so grown.

"You know, I'm just trying to talk to you….you said you wanted me here and now that I am you ignore me.. While we're alone, in your house, with nothing better to do….. Why cant you just talk to me?"

He slammed his fist down on the table, startling her a little but not enough to make her jump. His head snapped around to her and she started to regret bringing any of it up.

"I don't _want_ to talk right now, Leah." He said calmly, trying to restrain whatever it was that had him twisted.

"So, what, when you're in a "mood" I'm just supposed to ghost around here trying to find some way to occupy myself while you try and get past whatever it is that has you all fucked up?"

"You could just go swimming with them, what's the big deal? I have to work anyways, I'll be leaving here in a little while.."

"So.. Let me get this strait.." She spat, sitting up and posting her elbows on the table, her face knotted with anger. "I'm supposed to get up, ignore the fact that you're here, leave to go swimming with them, then come back and pretend it's all okay?"

He rolled his eyes and sighed, realizing that he'd briefly forgotten who he was dealing with. Getting back with Leah meant getting back with someone who could read right through his bullshit, something he wasn't quite used to anymore.

"No, Leah, that's not what I meant."

"Please…..explain." She sat back and folded her arms, defiance pouring off of her.

He dropped the wrench he was holding onto the table with a loud thud, dropping his hands to his lap. "What do you want me to say?"

She drew her brows in confusion. "What do you mean? You said that's not wha-"

"I know that's not what this is about." He stated bitterly, turning his full attention to her. "I read the letter this morning." He frowned.

Leah's heart sank into her stomach. Apparently the letter hadn't had the same effect on him as it had on her. He folded his arms, watching and waiting for her response. He almost looked angry about her finding it, about having to read it. Her mind started working up angry and bitter thoughts. She didn't _make_ him read it, he didn't _have_ to pick it up.

"It used to be so easy for you to talk to me." She admitted slowly. "I guess I just don't see why that has to change."

"Because everything else has. I'm not that person anymore, neither are you. I thought we already agreed on that, that things weren't going to be exactly how they were before?"

"Okay, some things _cant_ be exactly the way they were, I understand that." She said a little louder, beginning to feel a little more confident with the conversation. "But things like communication, like being able to talk to me, to trust me, to let me help you….those things are important with us. That's how we've always been, even before we were together. I cant be with you if you're not with me."

Jacob's head drew back, his face turning defensive. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You don't even try." She almost whispered. "You walk around here like a ghost half the time, looking for anyway out so that you don't have to deal with us. If it's so hard for you, why don't you let someone help? Why don't you let _me_ help?"

She could see it in his features that things were about to go downhill. He was pissed off at her accusations-of-sorts and wasn't taking the direction of the conversation well. She watched as his jaw tightened, his neck and shoulders tensing and loosening over and over. She could see him trying to keep calm, but somewhere along the few things she'd said, she'd struck a nerve.

"I don't need any help." He said through gritted teeth. "I'm with you, I always have been…." He paused, thinking about his next words, but unable to stop them from pouring out. "Can you say the same?"

This is what she'd forgotten to prepare for. She knew without a doubt that no matter how many times they said they were over all of that, past it and moving on, he still held some sort of resentment towards her. Her voice caught in her throat briefly before she was able to shake it off and keep her face void of any hurt she felt.

"No, I cant. I wasn't here for you, I know that, and I'm trying to make up for it."

He laughed. "Make up for it? Now how might you go about doing that? Please, tell me so that I can take some pointers. How can you make it right? How can you forget everything that's happened? How can you go on everyday knowing that you fucked up? **Please**, Clearwater, tell me how to make up for the things _I've_ done!"

He was shouting, his body thrown mostly over the table so that he was in her face. She could feel tiny strands of her hair blowing with every word he screamed at her. There it was, the comfort zone she'd been hoping for. Unfortunately, she hadn't planned on giving in and playing this game. As much as she'd have liked to jump up and punch him dead in his face, she sat still, letting him regain his resolve.

"Are you finished?" She asked quietly, her eyes closed in on his. "Can we try talking now?"

"We have nothing to talk about."

"Yes we do. If we're going to make this work-"

He cut her off, a loud growl escaping his chest. "We have already discussed all this and if that's not good enough for you then you should probably just cut your losses and get the fuck out of here. I wouldn't blame you, this place is nothing but heartache and bullshit. You might have been better off staying in Bay City for good."

As much as she wanted to flinch, she stayed steady. He sat back down at the table and stared at the largest piece of his recent puzzle, eyeballing it as if it were a hunk of gold, anything to keep from looking at her. He wasn't sure why he was being so hateful, why he'd been set off so easily. As she got up and slowly walked to the counter, guilt began setting itself deep into the pits of his stomach, twisting and turning until he felt almost sick.

"You know, we had almost this same fight once….you remember?" She asked while pouring herself a glass of tea, shoving back the emotions that were pounding behind her eyes.

"yeah." He whispered. "But it's not the same."

"Why not?" She bit her lip, covering the tiny glimmer of upset in her voice. "I was just as angry, just as-"

"Just stop." He almost ordered, frustration seeping into his features.

"I was just as hurt." She finished, and he felt the same wave of anger pulsing through him again.

He couldn't for the life of him figure out why she was all of the sudden pushing so hard. What did she want? He gave her what she'd asked for. They were back together, living together. What more could she want from him?

"You don't know the first thing about hurt." He found himself spitting the words at her, the sentences shoving themselves from his mouth before he had time to think them over. "I didn't leave you, not like you left me. I was right here, for thirteen years, waiting and being there for you any way I could even when you refused it. I have always done everything I could to be there for you. When were you there for me? When did you ever go out of your way to make me feel better? I did what I told you I was going to do, I fixed you, and I was always there for you. You're the only one around here breaking promises and holding grudges for things that couldn't be controlled."

She couldn't even get angry with him, he was right. It was then she really began to regret initiating the conversation, as the first tear streamed silently down her cheek, she was suddenly praying for a way out of it.

"I'm sorry." She said, closing her eyes. "and I know that I should have done things differently, because I honestly do love you.." She paused, bracing herself for his next tirade. "..but I don't think that's what all this is about."

"You don't know shit, Leah." He said dryly, his tone ice cold. "You wanna know why I don't talk to you? To anyone?"

She nodded, pretty sure that he was watching her, unable to turn around and face him.

"Because I don't fucking want to." He sneered. "What the hell will that do for me? What do you think that _talking_ is going to fix? Will it make everything go away? Will it make my mind suddenly forget the things that play over and over again? Will it make me any less tired? Any less sick of all this bullshit? Will it give me back the past seventeen years of my life? **NO. IT. WONT.**!"

She heard him stand, shoving his chair back and hitting the wall, pushing the table out of his way. "You think that I'm supposed to just break down and allow all of my "pent up feelings and emotions" to flow freely and you'll make it all better?" He laughed snidely, positioning himself in front of the door. "You could never make me feel better, because you have _no_ idea what I've had to deal with. _NO_ idea of what we all went through. Nobody does. You could never understand, neither can anyone else around here.."

He shook his head, watching as she stood with her eyes closed. "We've been through this with all of the wives and friends and family… they all want us to "talk" about our "feelings" and help us get over all that they say haunts us. We have taken care of ourselves for seventeen years, we don't need anyone trying to take care of us now. You think you want me to talk to you, you think you want to know all the things that go through my head, but you don't. Not really. I can almost promise you that…"

Leah shifted, completely drawing a blank when it came to responding. "You should go meet them." Jacob finally said, opening the door, crossing through, and slamming it behind him.

She released a heavy breath and turned around, leaning on the counter. What the hell was _that_? Maybe that's what Rachel and Emily had been talking about when they spoke of Sam or Paul's "outbursts. Jesus, either way, it was fucked up. She wasn't really sure where to go from there. He'd said a lot of things that should leave her hurt and upset, but she really wasn't one for that game. Sure, it didn't feel to good hearing him say that she should have stayed in Bay City, or that she could never help him like he'd helped her. It wasn't fun going from the way they were the night before, to what they were today. But she wasn't discouraged, not much anyways. Though, sitting in an empty house wasn't going to help the situation any. She needed a way to occupy herself, not sit and dwell on everything he'd said. After looking around and thinking of all the people that were in and out constantly, she decided on cleaning. She hated cleaning, but it was better than coming to the realization that you're one time boyfriend whom you were madly in love with, still _are_ madly in love with, may not quite feel as strongly for you as he once had. Thinking of how long he'd waited and how much time he spent on his own, she was starting to think that maybe he was just humoring her. _-Stop!_ She thought to herself. _-Focus on cleaning up after these nasty asses!_

* * *

After spending the entirety of the day cleaning every last inch of the two story house, including front and back porches, by around five pm, she'd exhausted all of her distractions. TV was useless, there was nothing even remotely interesting on the radio, she'd already eaten the equivalent of a horse. She plopped down on the couch with her cell in hand, the briefest of hopes that he may call or text her forcing themselves to the front of her mind, seriously injuring her pride. She let out an exasperated sigh before sinking deeper into the couch and trying to distract herself with some stupid TV show. Her phone sounded off.

"_Hey ma, can I talk to you about something without you freaking out?_"

Leah rolled her eyes and groaned, staring at the ceiling for a moment before responding. If Hailey was texting instead of calling, and the first thing she says is please don't get mad, it's usually something worth getting angry over.

"_I guess._" She punched back, the reply coming back almost immediately after she hit send.

"_Well, you remember how dad gave us the rules speech?_"

She felt like just calling, but knew she probably wouldn't answer for fear of getting yelled at, so she humored her sometimes senseless daughter.

"_yes, get to the point._"

It took longer than Leah would have liked, and when it finally did come, she'd wished she'd never read it.

"_I've sort of been talking to this guy… from Jeremy's pack… it's his son actually. We've been hanging out during patrols every evening, just talking! And neither of us have crossed a border. We literally just talk, and nothing pack related, nothing dad or La Push related… just chatting.. You know?_"

Leah pinched her eyes shut and prayed that she'd somehow read it wrong. Opening them again, and realizing that Hailey was, in fact, dead serious, she called. Just as she'd suspected, Hailey ignored the call and sent her to voicemail, like she always did when she knew she was in trouble.

"_I'd rather text_", came another message.

"_Hailey Suzanne! Have you lost your damn mind! Your dad is going to be so pissed!_"

As much as she hated to think about it, she was going to have to tell Jacob. Leah wasn't light when it came to punishment and discipline, and she was used to her kids little games and disruption. Jacob, though, had undoubtedly been spared their rude and obnoxious behavior so that they could win his favor when needed. This was most likely going to be a shocker for him, his angel face daughter doing something bad… oh well, he had to learn somehow.

"_You CANNOT tell him, ma! He'll be so upset and he's already been in a bad mood, cant it wait!_"

Before she could send the next message the back door opened slowly and in walked precisely who she was being begged to keep a secret from. Hailey was right in one sense, he was already in a bad mood. Partially because of her, partially because of all the pack mess that was going on. It all made her really not want to tell him.

"_He's here, call me later._"

She slapped her phone shut and stared at the TV, unsure of what his intentions were. He stayed at the door for a minute, his arms folded, staring at her, until she finally peeked over at him. He sighed and looked to the ceiling, running a hand down his face.

"I cant do this right now." He said quietly. "Not with you."

She stood up and walked to the divider between the kitchen and living room, stopping and mimicking his stance. "What are you talking about?"

"I know I'm not always easy to be around, but you have to understand how stressful this shit is sometimes. Everything with Jeremy and the other packs, what happened with Nashoba and Tyrone….it leaves so many spaces open for so many things to happen and I cant get two seconds out of the day to do something other than dealing with the pack. I have a garage to run, hundreds of people I have to be watching all the time, you guys, the rest of the pack… I don't need to be worried about me and you. I know it's really not fair to you because I understand that you're just trying to get back to where we were before, and believe me, I want it too, but I _cant_ deal with it right now.. I cant be worried about you being mad at me or me upsetting you or…"

He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes tightly, shifting his weight to one hip. "I need you with me right now, not against me."

She ran a hand through her hair and sighed, unable to really come up with a way to react to his sudden compliance. Of course, she knew he was only giving her enough to shut her up, it was still something.

"I'm not against you, I'm just worried about you…all of you, really. You seem so…" She paused and looked back up at him, his face still calm. "…distant."

He nodded. "I have a lot on my mind. I just need to know that you're behind me and not worried that you're gonna split."

She recoiled slightly, surprised that her leaving would even be an issue. "You realize I just sold my house? I pulled the kids out of school and have moving trucks on standby awaiting your almighty word.."

He smiled and rolled his eyes. "I still hate that."

"Mhmm." She grinned.

Playing his words back in her head, she suddenly felt guilty about not telling him the newest mess they'd managed to get into. He crossed the room and slowly snaked his arms around her waist, kissing her neck lightly. Although she wanted to savor the light moment they were having, she decided against obliging to her daughter's wishes and, against her better judgment, pulled away from him slightly. Her hands were pressed against his chest, his still lingering at her hips while he watched her, confused.

"I have something I need to tell you…" She began, peeking up at him from under her brows just in time to catch the brief _'you've got to be fucking kidding me' _look. "Hailey just texted me and… well…"

"Just spit it out." He breathed, shutting his eyes and resting his forehead against hers.

"She's been meeting with Jeremy's son at the border for about a week now, nobody crossed any borders, they just talked. She said nothing pack or La Push related.. But she knows she broke a rule and wanted to let us know."

Jacob's eyes snapped open and he stared at her almost disbelieving. "Keegan?" He questioned quietly.

"I don't know his name, she just said Jeremy's son."

"Get her home." He barked, releasing his hold on her.

"Jake, come on le-"

"Get her home, _now_." He said loudly while bounding up the stairs.

She sighed and cursed herself for ratting out her own kid. But, he'd have found out anyway. It was a surprise that he didn't already know. He seemed to know everything that was going on inside their little reservation. She sent Hailey a text and ordered her home immediately. Leah figured she'd make Talon come with her, poor kid, he always had to witness his sister's traumatic scolding sessions due to their apparent inability to stay separated. The measly little week they'd spent apart was most likely torture for them both. Leah could only guess it was a twin thing, although, she and Seth had been that close once. Maybe it was more of a sibling thing in general, who knows.

After about thirty minutes, she heard footsteps on the sidewalk, and Jacob's voice from upstairs. "TELL HER TO COME UP HERE!" He shouted.

Hailey walked through the front door, Talon trailing behind her, just as expected, both with guilty looks on their faces. "Hey, ma."

Talon greeted, shutting the door lightly. "Hey Talon… why'd you come?"

Talon narrowed his eyes and shot his sister what reminded Leah of her own, once very effective, death glare. "This disgusting excuse for a sister told me I was in trouble.."

Leah had to fight the laugh that was building. "You're fine, you can stay down here with me. Hay, your dear sweet father wants you upstairs."

Hailey's face dropped and she folded her arms. "You told him, didn't you?"

Leah smiled weakly and nodded, watching as her daughter rolled her eyes and marched up the steps to Jacob's room.

"What'd she do this time?" Talon grinned from the couch.

"Eh, nothing too bad. Just been hanging out with Jeremy's son…"

Talon shut his eyes and took a deep breath, "What?".

"Apparently they've been meeting since we all left, at the border while they were patrolling."

Leah huffed and sat down in the recliner, feeling more and more like a tattle tell. Though, she noticed quickly that it was going to be a close call between who was more pissed off, Talon or Jacob. She was going to put her money on Jacob, but Talon wasn't known for keeping his temper in check. In fact, he lost it more often than not. Which was precisely what he seemed to be doing at the moment.

"I need some air." He barked, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

**a/n. Alright, had to cut it off. I didn't mean for this scene to be so long but, whatever, it was. =) Next update should be up by tomorrow. Reviews PLEASE! Loves to all my readers**!


	30. Reversed Roles

Leah had decided somewhere between her son storming out of the house and Jacob's muffled yelling from upstairs, that she was hungry again. She was moving slowly around the kitchen, really not in the mood to cook, but what was she supposed to do? Sue was still MIA. She had to chuckle a little to herself at the thought. She still depended on her mother's cooking even after all these years away and on her own. Truth was, she actually really enjoyed being able to relax and let others do things. She'd forgotten how together their "family" was, how much each of them put in and helped. Given their numbers, a tiny bit from each was enough to hold them for a month without Leah ever having to lift a finger. Of course, she'd never sit around and watch anyone else do something when she was perfectly capable of helping. It was just refreshing to know that everything would get done even if she accidentally forgot two or three things. She didn't have to stress anyways, and that in itself was a huge weight off her shoulders.

She heard the front door open and automatically assumed it was Talon. "Feel better?"

"Uh, sure?"

She turned around and saw Embry grinning at her, partially confused by her question. Leah rolled her eyes and groaned, taking out another box of noodles and dumping them into the boiling water. Spaghetti was most defiantly not her favorite, but it was quick and easy. Embry laughed and continued on his way over to her, resting his weight on the counter beside her while she started the sauce.

"How sweet of you, making dinner for little ol' me." He threw her the most obnoxious smirk she'd ever seen, nudging her with his elbow.

"Actually, this _was_ for me and Jacob. I assumed you guys already ate." She said while dumping the canned tomato sauce into the pot.

"Jacob's still here?" He quizzed, obviously surprised.

Embry caught the small sigh and disappointed look that crossed her face after he asked. He was almost sure that Jacob would have already left for the garage, or patrols, or anything else to get out of the house. His old friend wasn't very good with sitting still anymore.

"You guys fight?" He asked cautiously, speaking quietly to avoid Jacob hearing him.

"Yeah. He got mad and left. He got back a while ago and then I had to tell him that Hailey was meeting with Jeremy's son….you can imagine how pissed he was about that."

Embry's eyes widened with surprise. He watched her for a moment waiting for her to revert back to her usual self, but she continued on with her dull and depressing gaze. He decided against going into the Hailey subject, he was actually more interested in what happened with Jacob anyway. It had occurred to him a few times while Leah and Jacob were working things out to warn her about Jacob's soft spots, so that she could avoid pissing him off or causing one of his anger ridden tirades. But, he knew Leah, and he didn't really want to impose. It seemed that now, though, she could use someone to talk to about it.

"What happened?" He turned his body so that he was facing her, leaning on his elbow for support.

"I asked him to talk to me.." She began, taking herself, and Embry by surprise. "…he didn't like the idea all that much. So I pushed, and he pushed back." She shrugged. "Eventually he said some things that shut me up, then left."

Embry sighed and nodded, knowing all to well the consequences of trying to talk to their alpha about anything other than pack-related-subjects.

"I'm sorry, Lee." He placed a hand on the small of her back, rubbing gently with his thumb. "I'm not defending him, because I don't agree with the way he handles things, but now just really isn't the time. He's been overly stressed out lately, even more so than usual, and when he gets in these funks he's not all that easy to talk to… about anything…..not just stuff he doesn't wanna talk about on a regular basis."

She shook her head and turned to him, her eyes narrowing. "See, you guys say you're not defending him, but you always make excuses for everything he does. I understand that he's stressed, but shouldn't he ask for help rather than trying his hardest to do everything on his own? What the hell happened to him? He used to prefer having us around and helping out, pulling our own weight! Now it's like he'd rather just do it all himself and to hell with all of us."

She flung her hands up in the air when she finished, bringing one back down and shoving Embry's hand away. They were all enablers when it came to Jacob. They all loved him and respected him and didn't want to do anything to make him mad. It was pitiful and ridiculous for these grown ass men to be afraid to make another grown ass man angry.

"It's not that simple, Leah." He said tenderly, trying his best to avoid an argument with her.

"Really? So you guys don't tiptoe around him like he's some sort of explosive? God forbid anyone do something to make him mad or upset, right?"

Embry smiled. "You do realize that I'm not him….bitching at me really isn't going to help your cause."

She huffed and rolled her eyes, turning back to the oven. Was Jacob wearing off on her? Were his retarded mood swings and quick triggers actually possible to _catch_? It seemed that way. Embry was only trying to be helpful, though she'd always had a short fuse when it came to Embry and Quil, it still didn't give her grounds to bitch at him about _her _problems….now, if only she could say that to _him_.

"I'm sorry." She forced out. "I guess it's just hard to say those things to him so-"

"You take it out on me?… like you always have?" He grinned.

"I guess so.." She chuckled. "To bad Quil isn't here, huh?"

They both laughed at that, remembering how funny it was when she would explode on the lesser of the group. He always had a hard time recovering from her tirades, a small fact that would have Jacob, Embry and Seth laughing for days.

"So what all did he say?" Embry asked while taking the noodles to the sink to drain.

"Meh, you know, I'd never understand, he didn't want talk about it, I may have been better off staying in Bay City, I couldn't help him…." She stared closely at the sauce not particularly wanting the sympathetic look Embry was most likely giving her.

She didn't mean to sound so sad about it, he _did_ come back and sort of apologize, but it didn't help the thought that maybe he was right. Maybe she couldn't help him?

She felt Embry's arm slide around her shoulder and pull her close, pressing his face to her forehead. "How about this," He offered. "when things calm down, I'll help you talk to him. We'll both gang up on him. You know how much he hates that."

She giggled a little, allowing herself to fall into his chest. "Yeah, sure."

Leah stayed that way for a minute, calmly leaning into him. She felt him pull back and looked up to find him staring at her neck.

"Jesus, he got a hold of you didn't he?" Embry ran his fingers across the large bite mark on her neck.

She flinched slightly, having not realized how sore it was or even remembering it was there until he'd mentioned it. Reaching up and touching it, she felt the small indentions still firmly in place.

"What the hell?" She asked through gritted teeth, the whole side of her neck beginning to throb. "I didn't realize it was that bad…guess I better take my hair down.."

Leah pulled her hair out of the messy ball she'd had it thrown into, ruffling it so it covered the large mark. "Better?" She asked.

"Yeah.." He said scratching the back of his head. "Maybe that's what's different about you…"

She narrowed her eyes and punched his chest, her upcoming verbal bash interrupted by footsteps on the stairs. She and Embry both sealed their mouths and turned back to what they were doing. Leah immediately heard sniffing and shook her head, turning to find Hailey stomping to the table, tear stained face and all.

"It didn't work on him did it?" She asked almost sympathetically.

Hailey shook her head, still half crying. Leah couldn't help but feel bad for her, she looked so pitiful. Of course, she also felt a little relief, Jacob taking some of the parental slack and taking the "bad guy" role. Living with them more often than not, and being too far away for Jacob to be completely involved with everything, she was always the one that had to discipline, good to know he wasn't afraid to help out when needed. Good thing, she didn't feel like yelling.

"What did he say?" Leah whispered.

Hailey shrugged and set her phone down on the table, leaning back and folding her arms. Leah sighed and turned back to the spaghetti, finding it more and more disgusting by the minute. After a few moments of silence between the small group, Jacob entered the room, his face tense.

"Embry, you're the first one I'm going to say this to, and I want this to be very clear, Hailey is not to patrol alone. I don't give a shit what the circumstances are. Someone's with her at all times, and she stays _away_ from any and all borders…. Understood?"

"Got it." Embry replied, unable to avoid glancing over at Hailey.

"Where's Talon?" Jacob asked, taking a can of soda from the fridge.

"He uh… I told him what was going on and he left."

Hailey closed her eyes and shook her head with frustration, a new batch of tears flowing freely down her cheeks. Her sobs were shaking her chest. Leah shook her head in amazement, the girl honestly thought she was supposed to get away with everything.

Jacob sighed. "Is dinner ready?"

"Yeah, whenever you guys are.."

"I'll go get him and let him know." He set his drink down on the counter and kissed Leah's forehead. "Thank you."

She smiled weakly and nodded, watching as he ran back upstairs for something. As soon as he was out of the room Hailey shot her the best glare she could muster up through her childish tears.

"I cant believe you did that!" She bit, leaning across the table. "You told him _and _Talon! What does Embry know too?"

Embry drew his head back and held his hands up, backing away and turning his attention to the spaghetti.

"Hailey, lower your voice." Leah said dryly, honestly not in the mood for one of their arguments. "Just drop it."

"Are you kidding me? You get me in trouble then I'm supposed to drop it? That's such bullshit!"

At some point, Leah had noticed her children's behavior going completely haywire. They were getting in trouble in school, Talon for fighting, Hailey for disruptions. They kept their good grades, both were into sports, both did extra circulars and had a lot of friends. But for whatever reason, somewhere in the last year, they'd both gone nuts. Talon had gotten exceptionally better since they'd come back to La Push, but Hailey was the same, if not worse. Only problem was, nobody would stand up to her other than Leah, and now Jacob. She had free reign as long as she was away from her mom and dad. She was loud and abrasive, she knew what she wanted and most of the time, she got it. She was a good kid, but in a sense, she reminded Leah a lot of herself. A thought that horrified her to no end.

"Watch your damn mouth." Jacob yelled, stepping back into the kitchen. "You didn't think I'd find out eventually? I don't give a shit who she told, she's your mother and has every right to. You agreed to be in this pack, and with the pack, comes rules. You follow them, and if you don't you get punished. Same as every other member. You had the choice not to. Either way, you're my daughter and _I_ say that you're not seeing him anymore I don't give a shit what you two did or didn't do. This discussion is over. Don't bring it up again."

Talon stepped through the back door, awkwardly shutting it and moving over to help Leah and Embry with whatever they were doing. He didn't care, as long as he didn't have to be apart of whatever was going on.

"I trusted you," Jacob stated condescendingly. "and I expected a lot more out of you. You took on a responsibility and I'm supposed to be able do depend on you, not have to worry about you going behind my back and doing exactly what I told you not to. You think that this is all a game? People have been killed for less. Do you want to be responsible for someone getting hurt because you were neglecting _your_ duties so that you could go fuck around with someone that you don't even know? You'd put your family in danger for someone that could be getting ready to attack you? _That_ is bullshit. You know what?…..just go to your room, I cant even look at you right now."

Hailey shoved her chair away and moved towards the hall, Jacob catching her arm before she could get past.

"Give me your phone." He said calmly.

"What?" She asked, surprised.

"Give me your damn cell phone. Bring me your laptop… and the phone in your room."

Leah covered her mouth, amazed at how one little incident could completely reverse how roles were played. A week ago that would have been her there, yelling, taking things away, the one that Hailey would despise for the next week or so.

Hailey huffed and opened her mouth to speak, cut off before she could even let out a breath.

"Don't say another word-" He closed his eyes and pointed roughly, losing his well held patience. "-go, now."

She turned and stomped down the hall, her frustrated growls heard throughout the house. When she was out of site Jacob tossed her cell to Leah and grinned at Talon.

"Ready to eat?"

Leah and Embry handed Talon and Jacob their plates and the four began piling on the hurried meal. After sitting, Hailey emerged from her room with her laptop and phone. She put the computer on the couch and slammed the phone down on the coffee table, turning and going back to her room without a word.

"You want me to tell her to come eat?" Talon offered, still somehow able to feel sorry through his own anger towards her.

"Yeah, go ahead." Jacob said while twisting his noodles around the fork.

"How long is she in trouble for?" Leah asked after Talon left the room.

"Until I say differently."

Embry chuckled, shaking his head. "It's amazing how alpha can crossover into parenting. I always thought you were a sap when it came to Hay."

"Yeah well, this isn't just something stupid with some random guy. There's a reason we put those fucking rules in place, I expect them to be followed. Daughter or not, she's part of this pack, and she'll be treated like it."

Leah swallowed hard, sympathy oozing off of her. What the hell was her problem? She was never anything but stern with them when it was just her. Why would she suddenly feel bad for her when someone else actually called Hailey out on her shit?

"She said she's not hungry." Talon sighed while sitting back down.

"Go figure." Jacob rolled his eyes. "Well, now that I know, I guess I need to go talk to Jeremy."

Embry stopped eating, peeking over at Jacob solemnly. "You could always send one of us, you know?"

Leah grinned, knowing good and well what Embry was doing. Little sneak.

"Jeremy wont talk to any of you."

Defeated, Embry just nodded and went back to eating. Talon took over the conversation after the three adults went silent, completely unable to undergo the awkward cloud that had settled above them. Although Leah knew she was wrong, she couldn't help but want to go talk to Hailey. Just to be sure she was alright. But, doing that would make her the "good guy", and they weren't trying to play roles. So, she suffered through the rest of the night until about eleven and retreated to bed. She thought about waiting for Jacob but he was working on that stupid motor he was supposed to have finished earlier that day. She was too tired to wait all night, she was too tired to do anything. After she hit the bed, she was out, and stayed that way until morning.

* * *

Jacob sauntered through the crowded street, pushing past the citizens of Jeremy's pathetic excuse for a reservation. These people were living back in the olden days, it was horrifying. But that's not why he was there, they weren't his concern. He was dreading this encounter, he was dreading the conversation, he was dreading the day in general. Jeremy was going to be pissed, Keegan was going to be scared to death, and for good reason most likely. Hailey was insanely upset with him, Leah was on some sort of emotion trip. It was like everyone had lost their damn minds all of the sudden. In a sense, he knew that Leah was right on some levels, that he probably should have given her more than what he did. It wasn't that he didn't _want _to, hell, it would have been great to have someone to talk to. To just open his mouth and blurt out whatever was on his mind. It just wasn't that easy. Jacob had suffered through plenty, and if he saw an easy road, he was taking it. Nothing came easy so much anymore, not for him or most of the other pack members. They'd all had their fair share of ups and downs and it was safe to say they were all ready for a break. He thought that having Leah there would make things easier, that it would ease some of the pain if he had the one thing he thought was the reason for most of his everyday problems, but it didn't. She was different, she wanted more, she wanted him. All of him. And that's what had him in a bind. He didn't have time, he didn't have romantic thoughts, he didn't have dreams and thoughts of them getting married one day and living a semi-normal life. Not anymore. That just wasn't him.

He'd taken everything that was thrown at him in stride, pushing past and moving on, but that didn't mean there were no scars. It didn't mean that old wounds automatically closed just because he decided he was moving forward. Things like that didn't just go away. He'd thought, for a brief moment, that talking may actually do some good. Although, in his reality, it was a dumb concept, there was no harm in trying. Until it came down to it, anyway. He could just see it in his head, now. Him agreeing, the pack of course agreeing to participate, all of them in the living room circled around all their "damaged" boyfriends and husbands and fathers and sons and brothers. The questions start, coming from all angles about all different things. Then they start asking them to talk about what happened when they fought the Volturi, and that's when it stopped. He didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want to remember, even after all those years. He hated the Cullens because of what they caused, he hated Bella for dragging him into it, he hated Edward for coming back, he hated all the other packs for the problems they caused. There was so much pent up hate for so many different people, he no longer knew where to put it. He couldn't be mean to the Cullens, they needed Carlisle, and not all of them were worth hating. He couldn't be hateful to the other packs, he had alliances, deals, trades worked out with these people. He needed them in case of emergency, and they needed him to stay connected to the outside world. He couldn't take it out on his family, although that's what he'd been doing as of recent. So where was it supposed to go?

He shook his head of all his personal thoughts when he saw Jeremy approaching. He had his beta, and Keegan, at his sides. Keegan peeked up at him and grimaced, obviously knowing why he was there, what he knew. Jacob hated getting the boy in trouble, but he'd broken the rules, just like Hailey, and he wasn't going to deal with the uproar when Jeremy found out from someone else. Jacob could have just as easily been asked to get out of Washington for something like that, and he'd be damned if he was going to sit by and let someone like Jeremy take over La Push. Nothing against the guy, but he had some fucked up priorities.

"Jacob," Jeremy extended his hand, Jacob's catching it in a tight handshake. "what brings you all the way here?"

"Well, I needed to let you know that one of my pack members broke…" Jacob paused, feeling more and more anxious about the whole thing. "..my daughter broke one of our rules and I wanted it to be clear that she's being punished, under my own conditions, before someone else leaked it to you."

Jeremy cocked his head slightly. "Jacob, you don't have to worry about me turning on you. I understand that she's new and it takes time to learn all the rules. I don't see the harm in one misstep."

Keegan shifted. "Actually, Jeremy, it was my fault."

Jacob tensed and turned his attention to the younger wolf who was obviously dreading what was next. He had to hand it to the kid, though, at least he was taking responsibility.

"What do you mean?" Jeremy's tone iced over, a tight glare held while he turned to face Keegan. "What do you have to do with any of this?"

Keegan shot his gaze to Jacob for a moment, ducking his head under his alpha's hard scowl. "We've been talking for the last few weeks, at the border during patrols…."

Jacob watched Jeremy carefully as his whole body tightened and rose to his full height. "You know the rules, Keegan."

"Yes, sir. I understand." Keegan responded.

"Neither of you crossed?" Jeremy quizzed, his tone deep and accusing.

"No, sir."

"You didn't touch her did you?"

Jacob wasn't really planning on another line of questioning, but when Keegan remained silent he couldn't suppress the loud groan. He tilted his head back, peeking up at the sky for some sort of help from anyone watching. He'd learned long ago, though, asking for help was useless. So, he gave up and turned back to the scene before him.

"No- I mean- … well- It wasn't anything like _that_..-"

"Spit it out!" Jeremy demanded.

"There's this spot, where we meet, there's no border there. It's like….like no man's land.. We'd sit there most of the time.."

Jeremy pinched the bridge of his nose and turned back to Jacob. "I'm so sorry about this. I know that both of them were wrong but _he_ knows better."

Jacob couldn't help but agree, Keegan was much more experienced when it came to the pack, but it was no excuse. Hailey had _just_ been reminded of their stupid little laws before Jacob left, and he didn't appreciate the fact that she ignored them.

"Either way, she's being punished. I just wanted to be sure you knew." Jacob concluded, folding his arms.

"Go run your patrol, I'll deal with you later." Jeremy barked at Keegan, the younger man nodding and immediately running to the wood line.

"Don't be too hard on him," Jacob grinned. "it was a two way street."

"That it was. But you know how it is being that young. I know I hated the rules when I was his age."

Jacob chuckled lightly and nodded. "Yeah, unfortunately for us, we're the ones dishing out the punishment nowadays. No room for that smack on the wrist shit."

"You're correct." Jeremy smiled and looked over to where some of his pack members were.

"They're so different than we were." Jeremy's tone shifted dramatically, a low, almost upset sound to his voice.

Jacob's smile faded and he dropped his gaze to the dirt. "We made them this way."

"Yes, we did. I wish it could have been different. That they could have the freedom we once did. Unfortunately, with all that's happened, it just doesn't seem as if we'll ever be that way again."

Jacob frowned at the truth of Jeremy's words, the same thoughts having crossed his mind several times. Things were so much simpler back then, all those years ago. No vampires, no wolves, no psycho killer creatures that bigger, badder vampires created. It was just the world. Just humans and life. Pathetic human life that seemed so appealing now that it was forever gone. Jacob kicked the dirt casually while backing away.

"Huh, didn't ever take you for a sap, Jer." Jacob smirked.

"We all have our moments." He returned the light mood.

"Sure, sure. I guess."

As he walked towards his car, he couldn't help wondering how the hell Jeremy could be so open and casual about all of it when he had such a hard time. Jeremy wasn't there for the brunt of the Volturi's strongest attack, but he was there throughout most of the rest. Why was he so easily open and easy going about it? Asshole. He was making _him_ look like an emotionally unstable retard.

"Hey, Jacob!"

Jacob turned and lifted his chin.

"We should get together sometime, like we used to. Good ol' Sue Clearwater cookout."

"I'll talk to Sue and the others, see what they think. I'll call and let ya know."

Jacob threw up his hand and shouted one last goodbye before climbing into his small ass car. As much as he loved the thing, he preferred his work truck most of the time. The cramped space did nothing for his long legs and brawny build… just another thing Leah seemed to be right about. The ride home was torture. All he could think about was Leah and all their problems… well, _him_ being their main problem. And Hailey, Jesus was he feeling bad about Hailey. He wasn't wrong, and he wasn't giving her the stuff he'd taken back. She was still going on patrols with a partner at all times away from any and all borders, he just felt bad about being so harsh. In his defense, he had already argued with Leah _and _was trying to stay away from Jeremy. His frustrations were running a little high when he'd started his little tirade. He figured he'd give it a day and try to talk to her. Although, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. He was still pissed at her, still felt a tad bit betrayed, and still wasn't up for the whole "talking about emotions" thing. Eh…..maybe he'd just leave it where it was.

* * *

**a/n. Ugh, good lord. I start these scenes and they end up dragging on forever. I'll hopefully have the next chap posted later today or tonight. I've got to work on Blackout so I cant promise anything. =D Thanks to all you reading and PLEASE leave me some reviews and let me know what you all thought! Loves!**

**Oh! And Kei Kat, that little daddy scene was for you! Lmao. Hope you enjoyed the 'disappointment' because it was hurting me just writing it! *shivers while flashbacks start flowing*… I think I got the gist of our convo in there! You should be proud. ;-) **


	31. Jealousy's a Bitch

"JACOB!" Colin screamed up the stairs. "YOU'VE GOT A PHONE CALL!"

Jacob groaned loudly into his pillow, grasping the sheets on his bed to avoid punching his headboard, _again_. There were enough cracks and he'd already turned it around to hide the worst of the damage. He didn't feel like shopping for a new one.

"Yeah, yeah." Jacob mumbled. "I'm comin'."

Waking up to the sound of a million people downstairs wasn't something he'd gotten used to with time. As hard as he'd tried he couldn't suppress the frustration it caused, the way it made everything within him scream at him to just run. Jump out the window and take off to nowhere, away from everyone and everything. He pushed himself up on his forearms, raising his head enough to see that he was alone. _Figures_- he thought to himself, unable to contain the eye roll. It had been three days since the whole Leah VS. Jacob, Jacob VS. Hailey fiasco went down, and two since he'd spoken to Jeremy. Against his better judgment, he allowed himself to think about what may have happened to Keegan. Jeremy wasn't any kind of soft when it came to his son, in fact, he'd always been hardest on him. Jacob at one point thought it came from worry, from the want, or rather _need_, to be sure Keegan could take care of himself. But that just wasn't the case. Years of being home and working with Jeremy, seeing how he was all the time and not just while on the defense, left Jacob no doubt that he'd punish Keegan to the fullest extent.

Jacob let out one more frustrated growl and shoved himself off the bed, ignoring the thought of clothing or even brushing his teeth. Hopefully, he'd be able to go back to bed after he talked to whoever had decided to bother him. The list of possibilities was endless, but he was willing to bet that it was Jeremy, or someone affiliated with Jeremy. He was usually the only thorn that dared wedge itself in Jacob's side. He bounded down the stairs, obviously taking everyone by surprise with his loud and hostile appearance. He ignored them and went strait for the phone, finding Colin still on it chatting animatedly with whoever it was, a smile from ear to ear. Jacob held out his hand and demanded the stupid piece of technology that he was beginning to despise during the early morning hours.

"What?" He almost shouted, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand and leaning against the wall.

"_Heeeey Sexy!_" A very obnoxious and very familiar voice teased.

Jacob, despite his foul mood, managed a smile at hearing her voice. "Hey Brooklyn." He chimed.

"_Ahh you recognized my voice! How sweet._" She continued her light attitude, pleased to hear him, but noting his initial sour attitude.

"Yeah, yeah. Not that I don't enjoy hearing your insanely annoying voice buzzing through the phone at nine in the morning or anything…but would you mind telling me what you want?"

Jacob took the moment of silence to scan the living room and kitchen, trying to figure out who he'd have to answer to when he hung up. The kitchen was clear, nothing but pack members, but the living room housed just who he was hoping had been out. Rachel. The only female other than Leah who would ask questions, or rather_ demand_ answers to whatever they wanted to know. Leah, though, was still pissed at him so he figured Rach would be his only worry at the moment.

"_Actually, I was wondering if you could do me a solid? For old times sake?_"

Jacob threw his head back and sighed heavily, sucking in another heavy breath before answering. "What can I do for you, my high and mighty princess?" He bit, rolling his eyes at her laughter.

"_Wellll… I'm coming into town and I was hoping.. Well.. I guess sort of praying you'd let me stay with you for a few days. I know you got a lot goin' on and I understand completely, I wont overstay my welcome I PROMISE. I just cant afford a hotel at the moment._"

Jacob pinched the bridge of his nose tightly, his low and almost menacing growls rippling through the house and catching everyone's attention. Sam looked up from his place on the couch where Emily was sprawled across him, throwing him a questioning look. Jacob only shook his head, and it was then he noticed that Leah was, in fact, there. He hadn't seen her at first, noting the reason for his mistake being that she was ever so sweetly lying in Embry's lap. He knew better than to let it bother him, it was childish, and way below him to even begin to feel jealous about something so trivial and innocent, but it didn't seem that today was going to be a regular day for him.

"When are you coming in?" He finally answered, earning a series of loud shouts and thank you's from the other end of the phone.

"_Tomorrow, mid day, around lunch. Sound good?_"

"Sure, sure." He closed his eyes, trying to avoid getting another eye full of what shouldn't be bothering him, of what was currently only fueling his horrifying mood.

"_Where am I staying? Your house or Sue's?_"

"My guest bedroom is open, but I think it'd be better if you sta-"

"_THANK YOU!_" She squealed. "_Oh my god I'm so excited, you have no idea how much you're helping me out! I swear when I get there I'll make you the best Chicken Risotto you have ever had I promise! Love you, byes_!_"_

Jacob's mouth immediately started drooling at the mention of the delicious Italian dish. He absolutely _loved_ Brooke's Risotto, whether it be chicken or lamb, salmon or vegetable, the girl's cooking was heavenly. She was born Italian, raised Italian, and cooked strictly Italian. Jacob and the others had never cared for it until they tried hers, and they had been in love ever since. Though, Jacob could easily counter that he'd never eaten anyone else's Risotto after trying hers. It was just unacceptable. He hung the phone up and sighed, already hearing the questions before they were asked.

"Who is coming?" Sue immediately asked, concern lacing her features.

"Uh…" Jacob scratched the back of his head, knowing this was bound to cause some problems. "Brooklyn asked if she could stay a few days, said she's in a tight spot with money. I told her she could have the guest room."

Sue's head drew back in shock. "Really? Wow I haven't seen or heard from her in years. Do you know what she's doing up this way?"

"No, she didn't say. I'm sure she'll fill us in when she gets here. It wont be for long." He tried to reassure Rachel indirectly, who was already staring him down like he'd shot her dog or something.

"Who is this Brooklyn? Why have we never heard of her?"

So it began, and as soon as Rachel started in, he saw Leah's head lift from Embry's lap. He felt his face heat, the mere sight annoying him to no end. He really had no right seeing as she _did_ have every right to be angry with him and punish him however she felt necessary, he just couldn't stomach the sight of her on one of his one-time-best friends. He knew without a doubt that he and Embry were nothing like they'd once been. They weren't as close, didn't talk as much, and defiantly didn't handle things the same way. Embry siding with Emily and the others about 'holding in their feelings' only shoved the rock between them deeper. The simple fact that he and Embry had grown apart made him that much more insecure when it came to Leah and him being so close. He ignored it though, staying silent on the matter and addressing the one that was currently staring him down.

"She's a wolf's imprint from another pack. They left her behind because she tried to breakup with him when we were fighting the Volturi, we picked her up and let her stay with us. I've seen her on and off since then, she'll come by every few years or so, but she's not around enough to be worth mentioning."

He saw the flicker of anger cross both Rachel and Emily's faces. Calling it anger wasn't really being honest, it was more like worry. Or jealousy. Fear, even. What happened with Jared and Ana had put a damper in their family's abilities to trust them, any of them. It affected them all on a regular basis due to their constant coming and going. Jacob hadn't really got grilled for it because he didn't have a girlfriend, or an imprint, but he was quickly reminded at that moment, that he most certainly did now.

"So why is she staying here?" Leah snapped, posting herself up on her elbows, glaring harder than she had in a while.

It made Jacob fairly uneasy being questioned this way. He wasn't used to being questioned, he wasn't used to having his motives or plans dissected for others to pick and prod at what could or couldn't happen. Being alpha had taken it's toll on him in many ways, the feeling of not having to explain himself being one of them.

"Because she asked me if I could put her up until she could afford to continue on whatever trip she's on, is that alright with you?" He asked through gritted teeth, trying his best not to look at her.

_What the hell is wrong with you?_, he mentally scolded. He was supposed to be trying harder with her, not pushing to piss her off. Although, again, his childish and feeble frustrations revolving around her laying in one of his pack member's laps was thoroughly making it's way through his mind and pushing itself to the front. He didn't want to be so petty and retaliate to something that was most likely not even intentional, and in no way threatening, but it seemed that he was weaker than he thought. Especially when approaching the subject of his former, now present girlfriend.

"I don't know, is she anything like Alex's mom?" Leah smirked that annoying, challenging smirk, daring him to continue the conversation.

"Yep." He popped the 'p'. "She _was_, but she's got her own life now. I'm sure she's moved on from all that." He pressed his shoulder against the wall, finally connecting his eyes with Leah's, the challenge in them pissing him off to no end.

"Oh, I'm sure." Leah bit sarcastically. "I guess I should be thanking her though, at least _someone_ can get you to smile every once in a while, cause' we sure as hell cant."

Sam covered his eyes with his hand briefly, knowing where the conversation was headed if continued. He honestly didn't want to witness it, but was unable to leave knowing there was a possibility of his alpha losing his temper. A very large possibility.

"Alright, guys. Let's just cool it. Brooke is a good friend of ours and was with us during a big part of our lives, there's no need to get angry about it." Embry threw in awkwardly, not sure who to be more afraid of in the situation.

"You're right Embry." Leah said, still staring at Jacob. "A big part of your lives that those closest to you know nothing about. I got it."

She huffed and fell back onto his lap, noticing immediately that his hands were held far away from her and his gaze was fixed on Jacob and Jacob only. Embry's face was tense, his whole body wracked with nerves. She rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the stomach, beckoning in her own subtle way for him to continue playing with her hair. He may have, had Jacob not still been staring in his direction.

Sam sighed and shook his head, looking away from the small group of people and to Jacob whose face was littered with nothing but frustration. Sam wasn't one to take sides when it came to pack and family, but he knew what was going through Jacob's head. He understood Jacob. Better than probably anyone they were around. As much as Sam wanted to just take the day off, to chill and relax like he and Jacob both had planned on doing, it didn't seem that was going to be the case. He cursed himself while doing it, but rose anyway, making his way across the room to Jacob and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"C'mon." He said quietly. "Let's go."

"What a minute!" Emily piped up, almost pouting. "I thought we were going to stay at the house today… day off? Wasn't that the plan?"

Sam's face dropped and he was immediately suspicious when Jacob _smiled_, yes, _smiled_ and patted him on the back.

"She's right, Sam." Jacob said calmly, an almost fake way about him. "I'm good."

Sam slowly, hesitantly, released Jacob's shoulder and made his way back over to Emily on the couch. Sue continued to watch Jacob and Leah, unsure what to make of their sudden banter. When Jacob turned and retreated deeper into the kitchen, Sue followed, quickly putting herself at his heels.

"What's the matter with you?" She asked harshly, folding her arms, her brows furrowed.

"Nothing." He replied shortly, pulling a bowl out followed by a box of cereal.

"Jake, I know that you've been having a hard time, I understand how hard it must be for you to have to deal with all this, _again_." She said sweetly, hoping to keep the interaction light. "Trust me, I remember how hard it was for you the first time. But you cant shut her out. She hasn't exactly had it easy, ya know? I mean the circumstances when she left alone were just horrific. You've wanted this for so long, I don't want to see either of you hurt again, so please…just _try_."

Jacob groaned and dropped his head to the counter, resting all his weight on it. He already felt like shit, he didn't need Sue making it worse. It wasn't like he _wanted_ to make her mad or push her away. She was just infuriating, defiant, everything he wasn't used to dealing with anymore. His head began throbbing, the thought of him being nothing like he once was again causing his stomach to turn. Sue was right, as usual. He was being an ass, for no reason. Sue crossed the small space between them and rubbed his back softly.

"It'll be alright Jake." She almost whispered. "You'll see, things will calm down soon. You just need to focus on working things out with everyone here. Things are so tense all the time. The pack is almost _too_ focused. They need breaks, time to have fun. Hell, sweetie, so do you."

He genuinely appreciated Sue's support, but that small part of him was still yelling at him to just walk away. Just leave all these emotionally addicted saps and take off for a while, until they decide to drop it for good. Sue could see the hesitance, and as much as she hated to get involved, she didn't feel right letting him self destruct, taking her daughter and grandchildren with him. She knew what the problem was, what had him so spun all the time, but Leah didn't want to hear it from her. She wanted _him_ to tell her, she wanted _him_ to talk to her about the things that bothered him. It wasn't a matter of just knowing, it was a matter of him trusting her enough to talk to her, to open up to her, despite how cliché it may have sounded.

"It wont." He said calmly, his body tensed under the comfort she was trying to give. "You know it wont. It just piles on."

He shook free of her hand and stood to his full height, stretching his arms over his head. Sue watched him carefully, hoping that he wouldn't take off. That was Jacob and Sam's signature, start a conversation, get uncomfortable, and run like hell. Well, if he wanted Leah to stay, if he wanted to fix everything that had been done between them, that would have to change, and soon.

"But…" He started, biting his lip. "You're right. It cant be this way all the time. I know-" He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "I know I haven't exactly been all here lately… I'm just having some…..issues."

Sue could see how completely and totally uncomfortable he was discussing anything remotely close to his 'issues', it hurt her to see him that way, comparing him to the young sixteen year old she knew. Watching him grow from a boy into this domineering, anger ridden alpha he is today was difficult. She'd been around him from the time he was born, he and Leah grew up together just like all the other boys that were with them everyday. It was hurtful seeing him so troubled, so lost, almost. He had to deal with so much, but he didn't have to do it alone. That's where he was mistaken, that's where he screwed himself over. All he had to do was ask and he had an entire reservation at his feet, ready and willing to do anything for him. It was just asking that was apparently difficult for him.

"I know. I do. But listen to me when I say that keeping it all to yourself, continuing on this way, with the hostility and anger, it wont get you anywhere. Especially not with her."

Jacob wanted to roll his eyes. He wanted to tell her to go give her pep talks to someone else, someone that needed it. But when thinking rationally, when thinking honestly, when being completely honest with himself, he knew that _he_ was the one that needed it. More so than the others. _He_ was the one that had the most trouble with day to day things. But taking that in stride was not an easy thing for someone like him. He controlled everything within the pack, within La Push, honestly, within Washington. It was hard to admit that he was able to succumb to these petty emotional issues. It made him feel weak.

"I know, Sue, I know." He groaned.

"Then do something about it!" She said with frustration. "You did all these great things, survived and pulled hundreds out of what we thought was going to be the end of us, you have kept everything and everyone in check for years now….on your own… don't you think that you should be able to take care of your own personal problems? You're the alpha, Jacob. But you're also family, everyone here loves you, and we hate seeing you so unhappy all the time. Do you really think the younger pack members should follow how you are now? Set an example, let them know that it's possible to do both. Family, and pack."

They stood for a second, Sue waiting on him to respond, when the phone rang. Colin answered again, his face lighting up when the other person spoke.

"Hey Jake, Brooke says she'll be in Forks late tonight, could you pick her up?" Colin asked quietly.

Jacob rolled his eyes and nodded. "Sure, whatever."

Sue stood in front of him for a moment longer before giving him one last warning glance and returning to the living room.

"Hey Jake, she said how does eleven sound?" Colin asked while laughing, excited to hear from their old friend.

Jacob moved to the table, sitting on the edge and nodding his head. He could see Leah getting up out of the corner of his eye, but chose to ignore it. He could hear her go up the stairs, but chose to remain still. He could then see Embry stand and follow, up the stairs and to his room. She was playing games with him now. He knew how Leah worked, no matter how many years they were apart. She was pissed at him, he understood, and on a level, he deserved it. But she was being childish with these silly attempts to make him jealous. Had it not been working, he may not have felt the need to retaliate. Unfortunately for him, it was. Unfortunately for her, he was just as good as playing these fucked up games as she was. However childish they may be.

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He'd been gone for over an hour. How was he supposed to get pissed about her hanging out with Embry twenty four, seven if he wasn't even there? No, he was too busy going to pick up whatever skank had decided to call for his "help". Leah couldn't help but feel the slightest bit guilty for the way she was acting…..childish, maybe a little silly. She just didn't deal well with being angry at someone who wouldn't allow her to be angry with them. Jacob was impossibly difficult, he was ten times more stubborn than she remembered. And his temper was beyond unpredictable. He was infuriating, and Embry didn't seem to be working. Asshole.

She was sitting on the couch beside Rachel, who hadn't been in a good mood since finding out about this beloved friend of the pack's coming over, both of them staring absently at the television. Leah couldn't pin point what had her so frustrated with him. His lack of effort in their new _relationship_ type thing, or the simple fact that nothing seemed to bother him. Nothing that involved her seemed to phase him in the slightest. He never seemed to get jealous, always had the same stern and focused look about him. It wasn't like she asked for much, some attention? It really wasn't like she was pulling a Bella and begging for every second of everyone's time. She just wanted a few moments. Wasn't that like, how it was supposed to be when rekindling a relationship? Trying to make it comfortable and equal? Getting past whatever it was that tore them apart in the first place? Leah rubbed her temples roughly, unable to understand why she all of the sudden was acting like a teenage girl. Maybe it was the challenge he was posing, who knows.

They heard loud laughter and talking from outside and braced themselves for the introduction of another wolf whore. They had nothing against imprints, but these were no ordinary imprints. Ana was a prime example. Alex was the result of that example. The front door opened and Jacob walked in with a tall, dark haired woman on his arm. She was toned and perfectly proportioned, her body shaped like a figurative hour glass. She was wearing a very nice, very expensive looking black dress, a small silver belt draping the middle. Her black pumps matched her ensemble perfectly, accentuating her legs, making it difficult not to look at them….even for Leah and Rachel. Her hair was in loose waves down her shoulders, caramel streaks lighting it slightly. She looked very well taken care of to be a discarded imprint from a reservation in Washington, her bags and purse and jewelry making it hard to believe that she was short on money. Maybe she was a stripper?

"Leah, Rach, this is Brooklyn…" Jacob pulled her forward, a huge grin on his face. "Brooke, this is Rachel, my sister. And this Leah, is the mother of my children."

Leah felt like punching him. Mother of his children? What about girlfriend?

"Hi, Brooklyn." Rachel smiled weakly, feeling more intimidated than she probably should have. It wasn't her husband with the beautiful woman on his arm.

Although, as soon as she thought it, Paul was in the door and sweeping her up in his arms, laughing and smiling wildly.

"It's so nice to meet you both! I've heard so much about all of you, especially you Leah." Brooklyn beamed, a giant smile from ear to ear. "This one never shut up about you!"

Jacob elbowed her, still smiling. "Yeah, yeah. Shut it already."

The laughter was making Leah sick. She had already tried once to speak, say a polite hello maybe, but she couldn't. It was eating her up, and she was eating _it_ up. She and Rachel watched on as the pack piled in and said their hellos, all hugging and touching her as if they'd known her their whole lives. It wasn't usually in their nature to be jealous, not even Rachel, but they didn't like the idea of this woman they'd never met knowing their boyfriends and/or husbands better than them. It didn't quite seem fair.

"Alright you guys we stopped by the store on the way home, I'll make the Risotto tomorrow night for dinner, I _promise_!" Brooklyn gushed, giggling while fighting off the aggressive friends she seemed overly comfortable around.

Leah felt like a little girl pouting in the corner while her first boyfriend flirted with another girl. It was pathetic, almost, but she couldn't help it. The nail that had been wedged in between them over the last few days was toxic. It was bothering her ten times more than she'd have ever thought possible. It only seemed to be getting worse. Brooklyn moved back to stand with Jacob near the front door, pressing her side to his, leaning into him almost. Rachel laughed hearing Leah's low growl, the vibrations of the couch under them only causing her laughter to increase. Nobody noticed. Leah caught site of Hailey and Talon entering through the back door, both seeming a bit confused by the large crowd swarming the kitchen. When they reached the front of the group, finally catching Jacob's attention, the look on Hailey's face was priceless. Leah and Rachel stifled laughs while watching her eyeball the strange woman hanging all over her father.

"Talon, Hailey, this is Brooklyn." Jacob motioned formally. "Brooke, these are my kids."

Talon smiled warmly, extending his hand and shaking hers. "Nice to meet you Brooklyn."

"Oh please, call me Brooke!" She pulled him in for a hug. "It's so nice to meet you Talon, I swear you look just like your friggin' father!" She exclaimed.

"Sure is touchy, huh?" Rachel whispered, watching the woman poke and push Jacob and Talon while talking animatedly with them.

"Mhmm.." Leah agreed dryly, completely un-amused with the situation.

"It's nice to meet you Hailey" Brooklyn extended her hand. "I've heard a lot about you."

Hailey stared at her hand for a moment, glancing at her father briefly, catching the slight confusion he held. After contemplating her options, and deciding that she refused to condone this stranger touching all over her father, she turned and walked to the living room and took a seat on the loveseat. Rachel and Hailey watching her the whole way. After a brief moment of awkward silence, Jacob got the picture, and decided to end it before it really began.

"Alright, well, I'm heading to bed. Brooke the guest room is upstairs to the right, make yourself at home." Jacob retracted his arm from around Brooklyn's shoulder and slowly walked to the living room.

"Night, Jake!" Embry and Quil took Brooklyn's bags up the stairs, politely showing her the guest room and bathroom before helping to clear out the crowded kitchen.

"You ready to go to bed?" Jacob asked Leah quietly, moving to stand in front of her still seated position.

Leah peeked up at him and refused to acknowledge his question. She heard him sigh and shift his weight.

"Come on, Lee…." He almost whispered. "…I need to speak to you."

She felt her stomach drop to her toes. As if that wasn't enough, Rachel chose that exact moment to abandon her and follow Paul out the front door. Leah looked up and caught his eye, hating the sincerity she saw there. Why couldn't he just pick a mood and stick with it instead of going back and forth between asshole and the guy she continuously melted over when present.

"What about?" She asked quietly.

"Come on," he offered his hand, "let's go."

Going against her first instinct to shove his hand away and curse his insane mood swings, she allowed him to pull her up, and followed him up the stairs. As angry as she was about Brooklyn being there, she couldn't place that above the nervous knot forming in her chest. Whether he'd decided to try harder, or just flat out end it with her, it was going to be a hard conversation. Or….she could have been reading too much into it. Her chaotic thought process only prolonged the distance between the living room and his bedroom, causing her nerves to go hay wire. By the time they reached the door, she was just about ready to explode. Once inside, he turned and shot her a warm smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Alright, maybe it wasn't gong to be such a bad conversation.

"I've been thinking…." Jacob began, closing the space between them and wrapping his arms around her waist. "…about what you said the other day…"

_Finally!_- she thought to herself, rolling her eyes inwardly. Maybe he was finally going to start trying a little harder, maybe he was going to finally-

_Knock, Knock, Knock! _

Jacob's eyes shot up, staring the door down with an almost murderous glare.

"Who the hell is that? I thought you told them you were going to bed?" Leah hissed.

"I did… I don't know, hold on a minute." He breathed, sounding almost exasperated.

He flung the door open, revealing Brooklyn in the doorway with a grin. "Hey, can I steal you for a minute?"

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**a/n. Right, I cut it off, because I'm TIRED! Oh my gawwwwwddd! I know, I know, I'm just adding more drama. But I have a point, and the storyline get's back on track after this. More of a point, and leads up to the end. Sorry about the delay, I've been insanely busy. I'll try and get the next update out sooner. And I WILL update Blackout this week I swear. Thanks to all you readers, REVIEWS PLEASE! =D Loves**_!_


	32. Interlude: Jacob

**a/n. I've thought about doing this once or twice, but since I got a little stuck, I decided to throw it in now. This chap is all Jacob's POV. Warning: a bit angst-ish… I'm in a mood. Lmao. Enjoy. =D**

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**It All Started With a Promise.**

**By Cucumber07**

**Chapter 32. Lost.**

I used to enjoy silence. The calm serenity and peace that it can sometimes provide for someone like me, someone who lives in constant noise and chaos, is almost surreal. But not this silence. Not the silence that I'm now submerged in. This silence is deafening, painful, almost. I can literally _feel_ the barrier now dividing my side of the bed, from hers. She's pissed at me again. It's somewhat expected given the way things have been lately, but it still hurts a little. I think of crossing this invisible wall and apologizing, but what am I apologizing for? Can you truly apologize to someone, not for something you did, but for who you are? I try to lie to myself, tell myself that I'm not this mindless ghost of who I was, but it only lasts so long. Leah is a constant reminder of everything I've lost, of everything I've become. I stare up into the darkness from my bed, finding comfort in the seemly abyss. I fear nothing it has to offer. I fear no monsters, I _am_ a monster. I'm not afraid of dying, of living forever in the dark. Sleep is nothing for me anymore if not uncommon. I feel sick, so physically tired that I can barely move my long aching muscles. But I find no release. I close my eyes for a moment, thinking of our exchange earlier. She says I'm too strong. She says that I've lost who I am, that I've let that disappear, replacing it with my alter ego. My wolf.

I thought of arguing with her, but how can I? She's right. She's right about everything. All but one. I'm everything she says I am, all but strong. I'm not strong. I haven't been for a long time. Maybe I never was. I remember the exact moment when I truly lost that sixteen year old boy. It was something that I once thought was horrible, but now am more thankful for than anything. I wouldn't have survived. I really did allow myself to be replaced with the beast that's always begging to come out in all of us, that snarling creature that wants to surface and take control. I let him. In some ways, I believe that's why Sam and I are so different than all the others, but looking from another perspective, that's probably why we're the strongest. In some ways, I don't ever want them to feel the way I do. But in others, I'm so envious, that I catch myself selfishly wishing it on them. Wishing that someone, _anyone_ else could feel the way I do all the time. When Leah came home, I thought that I'd be able to return to where we were. I thought that I'd be able to give her what she wanted and open up to her. But instead, I find myself almost fleeting whenever she comes around. I try so hard to avoid what I know will come up when we talk.

I used to tell myself and anyone that asked that I knew what I was doing, that I could easily revert back to myself whenever I wanted, it was just safer for me to be this way. But now, now that she's here, now that I _need_ to do it, I cant. I feel hopelessly weak when I think of it, when I realize that I cant even be….._me_….anymore. When I realize that I've truly lost Jacob Black, and am now someone that nobody, not even myself, is familiar with. I feel myself slipping when I'm here, when I'm with them. I cant control my temper, I cant control anything about myself. My words, my actions. Nothing is family, everything is pack. My mind doesn't work that way anymore. When I see them, I have to almost work to realize who I'm talking to and that they aren't just members of the pack. I have to force myself to remember everything. How pathetic am I? I cant even do what I've taught every other member in the pack to do, I taught _them_, yet I'm the one unable. _'You have to separate pack from family,'- _I told them - _'you have to be able to be both. For yourself, and for them. Be however you want at home, but I need you to be strong out there'_

I feel like such a hypocrite now. It makes me almost sick thinking that I've become so lost, so completely and totally gone that I cant even take my own advice. My mind shifts to Nashoba, to his son. I try to justify it, to make what I did alright, when I know that it wasn't. How do you make these things okay? How am I supposed to tell her that I've killed so many people, some that I sometimes to believe to be unjust in ways, without her looking at me differently? I told them that Nashoba's son went crazy, that I had to do it. But, in reality, _my _reality, that's not even close to the truth. I killed him because he was trouble. I killed him because him being there made things harder on me and everyone around me. I killed him to get him out of the way, not because I absolutely _had_ to. He was dangerous, yes. He'd attacked some of the humans, yes. But I never even gave him a chance to speak. I didn't feel the need then, and most of the time, I don't now. It almost hurts thinking that I'm this way. _Knowing_ that I'm this way. I tried once, to shove everything that I've allowed to surface back down and let the person I once was take over…..he wasn't strong enough. I cant be that person. If that person cant handle what's already been done, apposed to what may have to _be_ done, then he's not good enough.

I feel her stir slightly. I know she's awake, her breathing gives her away. She holds her breath every time I move. Assuming that I'm keeping her awake, I stand, and slowly walk to the door.

"You're leaving?" She whispers, and what I hear in her voice hurts me more than anything I've done, more than all the memories I'm forced to live with.

She's crying. I can almost taste the salty sweet dampness as she rolls to her back, staring up at the ceiling. "I'll be on the back porch." I whisper back, allowing myself to look at her. It's dark, I can only see the outline of her body, of her face. But it's enough, I can see that she's upset now. All anger subsiding.

"But you'll still be here?" She seems to force the words out, fighting her hardest against the new round of tears forming under her lids.

I feel my stomach twist. I don't want to go now, but something about the way she's holding herself is telling me I should. Now isn't the time. We're both still heavy from our last argument, and I'm not sure if we can take another of that magnitude. Things only seem to get worse every time we fight, nothing gets resolved, we go in circles. It's my fault, I know, but I cant seem to make myself stop. I hear the words coming, I feel my throat constricting to release them, and even when I know it's the wrong thing to say, even when I know it will hurt her, I cant stop them. I cringe at the thought. _I'm out of control_.

"Yeah, I'm just outside. I promise." I hear my own emotions suddenly showing in my voice, defying my wishes and heaving their way up past all my defenses. "I just need some air." I don't know why I'm trying to reassure her, maybe I'm trying more to convince myself.

She nods but remains silent. I think of telling her I love her, but I don't. Instead I turn for the door and close it quietly behind me, a single, soft sob escaping from behind it. I place my forehead on the sleek wood, contemplating my options at this point. I could go back in there, attempt to fix it, but most likely only make it worse. Or I could just stick with what I was originally doing. The latter seems safest.

Passing through the house doesn't ease my mind in the slightest. All the pictures of our kids, of us, of her, of _me_ only seem to fuel my confusion. I don't even look like myself. I look- I look like _them_. I look like Jeremy and Nashoba and Tyrone. I look worn and hard. I look like someone that would scare people rather than be someone they can turn to for help. I don't want to be that person. I don't want to be feared, I never did. I hate what I've done with myself, I hate what my life has become. I have no life. I don't understand anything outside of our fucked up alternate universe. All I know is how to kill. How to hunt. How to protect. I've become what I thought, at one point, to be impossible. I've molded and fused so violently and thoroughly with the wolf lingering in some of our DNA's that I have no idea how to detach myself from it. I have no idea how to be any other way. I stop suddenly in the kitchen, squeezing my eyes shut.

I feel as if I'm being torn apart, by what, I don't know. Suddenly everything in me, everything I've convinced myself is no longer existent, is screaming at me to go back. I want to. My chest tightens almost too much and my breaths become labored. I want to go back. Why is this so hard? Why is it so hard for me to just turn around and go back up there? Would it be this hard for someone else? I shake my head defiantly, unsure of what's best. The thought, _unsure of what's best_, shakes me. Why does it always have to be that way? Why cant I just do something that I want to do? Jesus, why are things so complicated? My head begins to pound, the blood rushing to the back of my head and applying so much pressure I'm almost sure that it will burst. The kitchen is suddenly hotter than anything I've ever felt. I feel stifled, trapped. I move quickly to the door and throw it open, a loud bang following when it hits the wall. I ignore it. I cant think. The cool air does nothing for my sanity as I lean my forehead down to the railing in between my forearms, resting all my weight there.

My mind is so warped that I cant even respond when I hear the faint howl sounding from a distance. I hear them telling me that someone is here. Someone wants to speak to me. But I cant move. I stay where I am and almost refuse to respond. I don't care right now. I almost cant _make_ myself care. I keep thinking of the things I do, of the things I say and the way I handle any and every situation. It makes my head pound ten times harder. I can feel them now, Talon and Embry approaching, and I suddenly feel that strong urge to pull myself together. To make it all go away and pretend that its alright. That's what I always do, that's how I always handle it.

I try, but fail, to brush it all away. It's being stubborn tonight. My stomach is twisting tightly, the vibrations trembling through my muscles and into my face. This is why I don't even try. _This_ is why I just pretend. It's easier that way, and I decide quickly that I need to put my head back on strait if someone is waiting to speak with me. I assume it's Jeremy, he's the only one that ever bothers me without reason. He probably just wants to talk about that damn barbeque. Before I can stand and straiten myself up, my mind takes a surprising and unwanted turn. I close my eyes and immediately regret it. Seventeen years flash in front of me before I can stop it and before I realize that I've even moved, I'm on my knees, gripping the bars and railing desperately for support. My breath is heavy, my chest is on fire. I see everything. Every bit and piece of every moment that's led me here, that's created what I am. I feel as if I'm choking, my stomach is screaming at me, trying it's hardest to push my dinner up into my throat. I can faintly feel the tears now, the warm streaks slowly moving down my cheeks. I barely hear the footsteps on the stairs, unable to respond either way.

"Jacob?" Embry's voice was like liquid noise and it's all I can do not to scream as it seeps past the screaming and snarling currently plaguing my brain.

I feel him move closer, I can feel his concern. I don't blame him, I probably look crazy. I _feel _crazy.

"I cant breathe." I'm barely able to choke out, feeling his hand on my back shortly after. He tells Talon to go inside, and I know when he's gone because Embry sits down beside me and sighs.

"Jake, you gotta stop this, man." He almost pleads.

The irony of his words strike me like a blow to the face, cutting me deeper than the blade of a knife might. Those words, that sentence. A sentence that speaks volumes when pointing in the right direction, a sentence that changed my life. It may have even saved it. I think back to the last time I heard those words, the memory floating freely into the back of my eyes, momentarily taking me back to a place I never want to be again. I see the setting almost perfectly. A large clearing in the depths of the deepest forest we've ever seen, fires built and burning everywhere. Wolves from both sides running frantically around trying to sweep the area for any more threats. We've been fighting for almost a week strait, we're all so tired. _I'm _so tired. I'm not a leader yet, I'm only a worker in this madness of an occupation, doing what everyone else does, following orders. It changes though, after the sentence is spoken, it changes everything forever. The smell is so strong, Jesus why is it so strong? I feel as if I'm there again, the paws sounding behind me, approaching me, sound so real. I can smell them, the alphas, as they approach. I can hear and feel their thoughts, their worries. I see them now….

"_You cant save everyone." Nashoba's voice pierced the silence I created, his wolf form coming to a stop beside mine._

"_He was so young." I admit shamefully, disgusted at how pitiful my words came out. _

_I stood over the child's body silently for what seemed like forever, staring at his eyes. They were no longer red. They were blue. A dark haired child, with blue eyes. He looked so human that it was making me sick. I should have already burned him, but his dismembered body was slowly tearing me into pieces the longer I looked at him. He was no older than three, the Volturi's latest defense against us. Testing our weaknesses. Penetrating our boundaries with these innocent looking beings. I couldn't even tell he was a vampire at first, he was just a little boy. A baby. I felt my heart begin beating out of my chest thinking of him being turned. He reminded me of Danny, of Clair. Renesmee even. He must have been so afraid. Even when he was enraged, trying with everything he had to bite me, unknowing that my blood would kill him if ingested, he seemed so fragile. Right before I killed him, I saw it spark, the fear. I hesitated and he bit me, but that didn't take away the guilt I felt. Even while the venom was flowing freely through my veins and Carlisle was trying desperately to catch it before it reached my heart, all I could see was his face. Nothing could make it go away. _

"_Jacob, you need to stop this." Jeremy said quietly, moving to stand on the other side of me._

"_Stop what?" I asked with a little more force than I intended, noticing when the other alphas began gathering around me. _

"_You cant focus on these sort of things. You cant allow this-" Jeremy motioned towards the lifeless boy. "to control you. You have to be stronger than this. You have to let everything go. Stop thinking like you would back home. It's going to get you killed, it's going to get one of your pack killed. Is that what you want?" Jeremy almost snarled at me, getting in between me and the boy. _

"_NO! I've only been here for two weeks, I'm still trying to ad-"_

"_You don't have time to adjust!" Jeremy shouted. "You have to be strong for all of them, because they WONT be able to get used to this. It's not like switching schools or moving houses, this is __**war**_ _Jacob! You're not sixteen anymore! You're their alpha, now grow up and fucking act like it! We need you with us, we need you to step up."_

_I looked up from the ground to meet all of their heated gazes, every one of them burning holes through me. "How?" I asked quietly, feeling more helpless than I ever had in my life. I kept thinking of Leah, of leaving her there, of what she was doing. I wanted to go home. _

"_You have to forget about her. Forget about all of them. They don't matter here. They cant help you." Nashoba explained, "You are the only person that can be sure you get out of here, you have to protect them now, your pack, not your family. Do you know the difference?" _

"_I thought pack was family." I said cautiously. _

"_No. Not anymore. You have your pack, and you have your family. Your family is home, your pack is here. Do you understand the difference?" _

_I thought I wouldn't, but I did. I understood exactly what he was saying. They don't matter here. Because they aren't here. We are. We have to get back to them, so we have to do whatever necessary. _

"_You're right." Nashoba interrupted my thoughts. "You do whatever is necessary." _

"_But how do I just…not care? It's not in me to not care." I admitted, sitting back on my haunches. _

"_What do you think your wolf form is for? Yes, it makes you stronger physically. But these other sides, these other halves, they're here to do what we cant. You know you feel it, we all do at some point. When we're angry, when we're frustrated, when we're upset. Instead of fighting it, you just have to let go." Jeremy said calmly. "Don't fight it. From this point forward, this is the only thing you should give in to, ever again."_

'_Let go', I repeated to myself, 'don't fight it'. It seemed simple enough. I heard a low growl begin to thunder from one of the surrounding wolves. I looked around and noticed I was in a circle, completely surrounded by them. I was alone, my pack wasn't around. Of course I wondered what they were doing, but I couldn't care at that moment. I was to wrapped up in what was going to happen. I watched as Jeremy and Neshoba began circling me, then I felt the first blow. Jeremy head-butted me in the stomach, shoving me directly into Nashoba's jaws. He bit down hard around the back of my neck, yanking and pulling the loose skin and fur. _

"_Don't fight it." Jeremy instructed while watching Nashoba and Tyrone shove me back and forth between them. _

_I couldn't see anything, I was going around and around, back and forth between two sets of jaws. At first, I couldn't get over who it was that was beating the shit out of me. But no sooner than I'd began to feel weak in the legs, I felt it coming. I could feel my muscles tensing and tightening, I was already phased, so I didn't quite understand the sensation at first. The more it drug on, the more it hurt, the angrier I became. As if my vision were suddenly covered by a blanket of red, I could no longer see clearly. My stomach began to bubble, my chest began to ache, and as if it were all second nature to me, I lashed out. I caught Tyrone by the neck and drug him until I was away from Nashoba, then began roughly slinging his entire body back and forth, slamming him into the ground over and over again. They made no motion to stop me, they all seemed more than surprised. Nashoba and Jeremy finally came over after the hunk of skin I was holding on Tyrone's back was almost completely detached from his body. I could smell and taste the blood seeping out from under my teeth's indentions, trickling gracefully down my mouth and to the ground, covering his entire back. I released him when the stood behind him, both looking as though they were ready to attack me. _

"_You did good." Jeremy complimented. "You learn fast. Maybe this wont be such a hard transition for you after all."_

_I nodded my head but remained planted to where I stood. Looking down at Tyrone, I wanted to kill him. For the first time in my life, I didn't care. In a matter of seconds my whole thought process was changed, morphed even. I knew I'd never see death the same again, because looking at him, noticing his short and ragged breaths, I couldn't have cared less whether he died or not. I looked over to the boy still lying there, and not a single feeling that I'd had before was there. No guilt, no pity, no regret. I stalked over to his three different pieces, picked his head up first, and threw it in the fire. I did the same with the rest. I stood and watched it burn, only one emotion running through me. One that couldn't be mistaken for any other, and one that I knew wouldn't let me down. Anger. _

As the memory fades, I almost choke on how different it is now. I realize just how right I'd been before, thinking that nothing would ever be the same. I was lost after that, and I find myself still floating around somewhere, wrapped in some dark haze that I cant seem to fight my way out of. I quit trying after a while, after nothing got any better. We were still fighting when we got home. Not as much, and not as often, but it was still the same. Killing is killing, no matter who or what it is. It still leaves that sickly taste in your mouth, that dread covered knot in your chest. I begin to worry when my senses don't return to normal, when I'm still smelling the sweet burning of fires and vampires surrounding me, the smoke burning my nostrils as it invades all of my thoughts and dreams. I snap my eyes open, just to be sure, and find Embry sitting directly in front of me. He shakes his head in confusion, his eyes dark with worry. I realize I've changed positions and am now sitting, the actual movement and it's time are unknown. Lost in my lapse of time and place.

"Stop what?" I ask simply, the familiarity of the same words punching my brain and shaking my composure.

"You cant keep pretending you're okay." He says sadly, reaching to put a hand on my shoulder.

I flinch.

"I'm not okay." I say as if I'm only just realizing it. "I haven't been for a long time."

I say this and his eyes widen with surprise. He doesn't seem to know what to say. I grin slightly, amused with this sudden need for someone, anyone. I never need anything. I don't ask for anything. I do everything on my own. But right now, I want anything but. I'm afraid, of what, I don't know. My chest is still tight and my stomach still twists, I feel as if I'm going to burst. My hands are trembling and my muscles are tense. Looking down, I can see my chest heaving. My bare torso is covered with sweat, but I feel cold. I'm confused as to what brought this on, I'm confused as to why I'm suddenly so wrecked. A part of me knows that it was coming, eventually, but the rest is screaming at me to shut it off, to stop this nonsense.

"Tell me what to do Jacob," Embry pleads. "I'll do anything, I just need you to tell me."

I shake my head now, pinching my eyes shut. "I do-don't k-know what to d-do…" I stutter helplessly.

I'm scaring him. I can see it all over him. He doesn't know what to do because I'm always the one giving the orders. They never deal with these things, I do. I feel more eyes prodding me, asking questions, flooding with worry. I feel myself getting defensive now, unwilling to discuss my personal problems amongst a large group. Embry's brows furrow when he sees the change that I feel, the walls, the anger. I feel myself calming, I feel the memories fading. The pain is subsiding, my brain is returning. I'm not sure if I welcome this back or not. I feel the wolf taking over, my senses and instincts kicking back into overdrive, immediately recognizing the foreign wolf's scent on my land. I feel them shuffling in the doorway, uneasy with my behavior, but I ignore them. I feel Sam approaching and am immediately thankful, relieved even. I drag my forearm across my eyes roughly and pull myself to stand, unable to turn and face anyone other than Embry.

"Who's here?" I ask calmly. "Who wants to talk to me?"

Embry shakes his head slightly after rising with me, his face a mixture of things I don't recognize. How can I? I don't know him anymore. We never talk, we never hang out. I don't know anyone anymore. I don't even know myself.

"It's just Jeremy." Embry said quietly. "I can tell him that you're busy, you'll meet with him tomorrow….you don't look so good, Jake I think you should take it easy. Get some sleep or something."

I feel the familiar sting of absentness, my mind and body expelling anything and everything that I've allowed to surface over the past thirty minutes or so. I shake my head and move toward the steps, noticing Talon and Leah standing in the back door, emotion seeping from them. It hurts to see it. It hurts to feel as if I'm, again, the cause of it. I know I am, but everything is now driving me away. What was first pulling me towards her, is now telling me to run away. I need to get away, I have to get out of here.

I make my way down the steps without another word, heading strait for Sam. I can see it clearly in his eyes, the same thing that's reflecting from the others. He tilts his head sideways, silently asking what everyone wants to know, but I only shake mine and motion towards the woods. We begin our walk, my body still unbelievably tense. I'm suddenly frozen, a voice stopping me dead in my tracks.

"Jacob." My father speaks, and instead of the comfort I should feel, defiance bubbles up. He waits for me to respond, letting out a loud sigh when I don't. "Jacob, the others will tell him you'll meet him tomorrow, come inside and let's try to fix this."

I feel my muscles begin to twist, anger rising above all else and flooding my entire system. "There's nothing to fix." I state simply, clearly. I take another step but am again halted by his voice.

"As head of the council I'm _telling_ you to get inside, leave this business until tomorrow." The authority dripping from his words only enrage me further, the knowledge that he has no power over me presenting itself above any and all rationality concerning my next words.

"As head of the council, you don't have the authority to stop me." I almost spit, turning to face the small crowd formed on the back porch. His face wrinkles in surprise.

"Please, son. You need some-"

The clarity and honesty of his words, and what his next word would have entailed, make me sick to my stomach. My frustration and anger only builds, any sort of readiness I may have had before to talk about what was suddenly plaguing me is now gone. All I want now is to leave.

"I don't need anything!" I shout, feeling the sudden jerk and crack of my spine. I look away from them, surprised at how I'm reacting.

I'm losing it now, I can feel it. The only thing I've had control over for so long, my ability to phase, and I'm losing that now too. I shake my head stubbornly as Sam places a careful hand on my shoulder, pulling me away from the house. He knows. I back away slowly, taking deep, ragged breaths. From the corner of my eye I see someone descending the stairs and making their way towards me, my face contorts with confusion. I stay facing away from them, trying desperately to regain my self control. Whatever that may entail anyways. I feel it then, a soft, warm hand twining itself inside of mine. My head snaps around and there she is, a grin playing on her lips, sleep still heavy in her eyes. She squeezes my hand and leads me away, heading for the spot where Jeremy is waiting. We're walking, she hugs my arm tightly with both of hers, pressing her face to my shoulder. I peek over, confused, only receiving a small smile. Sam falls back, giving us room. I feel myself calm, my right mind coming back into play moments before I see Jeremy. I don't understand why she's with me, why she's by my side when only hours before we were at each other's throats, but I'm glad she is. We're still out of Jeremy's range, he's being patient, something I'm thankful for as I stop short of the wood line and turn to her.

I take her face in my hands, tracing her cheeks with my thumbs. I remember why I missed her, I remember why I love her so much. I press my forehead to hers and close my eyes, I breathe her in slowly, her scent taking me back so many years. I really did miss her. I'm suddenly torn, the impulse to revert to what I know best, pulling me away from this longing I've had for so long to make things right with her. To have everything that I once had again. It hurts, seeing the damp blanket over her eyes, knowing that I'm the cause. I feel as if I'm just now seeing her again after all these years, like she hasn't been here for the past few weeks. I feel like I have another opportunity. One more chance. I'm afraid that if I don't take it, that if I pass it up and continue on this way, I'll truly lose this part of my life forever. I'll lose her, I'll lose my kids. I'll lose all of my family and only have this…_emptiness_… I feel more often than not. She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me to her, hugging me tightly. The warmness I feel melts me into her. The pressure in my head eases, the chaos pulsing through me slows. My breath and heart begin to return to normal as I fall further into her. I slide my arms around her waist and pull her up, I'm sure her feet are barely touching the ground. I feel her breath on my ear, my neck, my shoulder.

"I'm with you." She whispers, kissing the side of my head.

I smile wholly, for the first time in a while. It feels so good to smile like that. I don't have to apologize, because she seems to already know. I feel the tension between us evaporate and I feel the millions of holes that have been placed through me over the years slowly begin to fill. Not completely, the hurt is still there, but it's a noticeable difference. I wonder how a simple hug can touch so many places inside me I never thought reachable again. I continue to smile, even when she pulls away, motioning to Jeremy who is still waiting patiently.

"Go, I'll wait here." She says quietly, pushing my shoulder playfully.

I shake my head while taking her hand and pulling her with me. I notice the broad smile that spreads, reaching her eyes and flowing throughout her whole body. It only heightens my sudden emotional revelation. We reach Jeremy and I offer my other hand, keeping hers tightly.

"Jacob…" He nods. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

"No, no, no. Don't worry about it, what's up?"

"I know we discussed getting together briefly the other day and I knew you patrolled around this time under normal circumstances… I thought I'd see if you ever spoke with Sue about it." He looks between Leah and I continuously, I cant help the curiosity that flares from it.

I nod and offer a small smile. "No but I'm sure it will be fine. Uh…" I scratch the back of my head. "..how about tomorrow?"

He shifts uncomfortably under my gaze, probably assuming something was going on. Jeremy never seemed to be one to intrude. He chuckles lightly and shakes his head.

"I really don't want to be any trouble we just thought it would be nice to-"

"No, really, tomorrow afternoon would be great." Leah chimes, smiling a large toothy smile. "We'd be so happy to have you over. How does two sound? How many of you will be coming?"

He smiled. "That sounds great, Leah, thank you. It will be my son, my beta, my third in command and myself. Is there anything you would like me to bring?"

"Don't worry about anything, we'll take care of all the food and stuff in the morning."

We say our goodbyes after a short exchange discussing what we'll have tomorrow. The walk back to the house is calm and quiet, relaxing. We're comfortable and I almost don't want to go back inside when we reach the porch. I don't want to think of my miniature breakdown, I don't want to get back into that mindset. She stops me short of the door, running her hand softly down my chest.

"Let's just get some sleep, alright? We'll talk about all of this tomorrow night after everyone leaves, just you and me. No pushing, I promise." She's whispering, her fingers finding their way to my face.

"Sounds like a plan." I confirm with a smile. An honest smile.

We make our way back to the bedroom and both tangle ourselves amongst each other and the sheets. She nuzzles her head into my shoulder, as I wrap my arms securely around her. I feel almost molded with her, lying there silently, slowly drifting to sleep. I let everything else slip away and am more content in this moment then I have been in….years. As I drift away, I'm confident that my dreams will be void of my usual mind wrenching nightmares. I'm not sure where to take it from here, but I'm sure that I don't want to continue on the way I've been. I've done so many amazing things, so many things that others could only dream of. I did them because I had to, I wanted to do them to protect my family. And now, I find myself wanting to change for the same reasons. I only hope that I haven't gone to far, that I'm not _completely_ lost. Moments like this, when I'm with her, I can feel that small shimmer of hope. And it doesn't seem so impossible.

**

* * *

****a/n. eh, not to excited about this one. But it's something. I'll have the next actually chapter out tonight or tomorrow. It picks up day after this before Jeremy and his come to dinner. Keegan reenters the picture after this. Leave me some reviews ppl! I've had a horrible two weeks, show me the love! Lmao. Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing. You guys keep me inspired. =) Loves! **

**Hope you loved it Kei! Can you guess where it's going from here… *wink wink* ;D**


	33. Surprising Friendships

**It All Started With a Promise**

**By:Cucumber07**

**Chapter 33- Surprising Friendships.**

He was burning… literally.

It had been quite some time since his last vampire bite, but he was quickly reminded of why they tried their hardest to avoid them. Maybe it was how immune he'd become to pain at one point in time, how numb he'd so quickly become after his first handful. Maybe it was how often the venom was introduced to his system that kept him from crumbling under the body breaking pain it produced once introduced into the blood stream. But now, he was reminded of what it had been like the first few times. He was covered in sweat, thrashing and howling under the vague sunlight.

It was early. The sky still littered with pinks and oranges, a slight haze hovering over the ground and throughout the lower standing trees. Jacob phased back to his human form reluctantly, his body pulsing and vibrating from the battle going on inside of his muscles and bloodstream. Everything in him trying to push the invading toxic fluid out. His loud groans and half screams were heard for miles, drawing in the few pack members that had been patrolling with him that morning. Through all of what was going on, all of the pain and agony he was feeling, all the thoughts and worries that were pumping through his overworked brain; all he could think of was home. He wanted to go home. On a regular day, he would have done anything possible to stay away. Anything to keep the inhabitants of his home and his surrounding family to have to listen to the inevitable bellows that would burst through his chest from the unavoidable pain he'd feel for the next few hours while his body forced the deadly poison from him. But this was no normal day. He'd made a promise to himself the night before, while he was curled up in the bed with the woman he undoubtedly loved with all his heart, and he intended to keep it. There was no more running. He didn't care how hard it would be, he didn't care how much it may scare Clair or Emily, it was apart of their lives. And he intended to introduce them to it.

That's what they'd wanted for so long now. To be let in. To be trusted and confided in. Well, here it is. The summary of their everyday. He felt Paul's hands guide his upper body by the back of his neck so that he was sitting, the changed position only churning the liquid and causing another wave of pain. Jacob snatched the pair of shorts from Brady and stifled another scream as he bent to put them on. The pair helped their alpha to his feet, and began the trek back to the house. Phasing was out of the question. He had to be human in order for the venom to be expelled, some fucked up rule Carlisle had found while fighting the Volturi. Just like he'd found out that less than ten bites was a sure survival for someone Jacob's size. His body, just like the rest of the pack's, had grown accustomed to the vampire's venom as the years went on. They took to expelling and fighting the poison rather than allowing it to do it's job and attack all living systems. It was something that worked heavily in their favor the last year or so that they were there. Something that Jacob was highly thankful for at that moment.

As they approached the house, Jacob took a seat on the ground just short of the driveway, taking in who was there. It was so early, nobody had arrived. It was only the twins, Leah, Embry and Brooke. Everyone but Embry still sleeping soundly. No sooner than Jacob had caught Embry's scent, he was out the back door and kneeling in front of him.

No need to 'introduce' anyone to something that seemed to be fading quickly.

"How did you let _this _happen?" Embry almost laughed, looking over the two small bites on Jacob's shoulder and bicep.

"It was a lapse in judgment, alright?" Jacob smiled. "Not on my part, either."

He looked over to Brady who was wearing a very sheepish grin. "I thought I had him… I didn't know Jacob was there…"

Embry shook his head. "Have you learned nothing over these past… I don't know… seventeen years?"

The four of them laughed softly, not wanting to wake those who were still sleeping. Jacob stretched his arm out just in time to catch the disgusting looking liquid seeping from the holes in his arm, sliding down and running off his fingers.

"Well… that's a record." Paul said, amused. "I think the last was, what, four hours?"

Jacob rolled his eyes and stood, a faint howl bringing him back down from his light mood. There was another one.

"You want me to stay with them?" Embry motioned towards the house.

"No, they'll be alright." Jacob said hesitantly. "We need to get rid of this one and be sure there are no others lurking around. It will get done quicker the more we have out."

Embry nodded and followed Brady to the wood line, not bothering to wait for Jacob and Paul.

"You think we should let Rach and Leah know?" Paul asked quietly, noticing Jacob's captured attention directed towards the house.

He wanted to. God knows he did. Jacob had planned on running a quick patrol and being back before Leah woke, giving him enough time to have her breakfast ready and maybe eat with her for a change. But, as usual, something came up. He didn't let it bother him, he just decided to go deal with this mediocre threat and be back as soon as he could. He was sure she'd understand. It was barely six thirty, she wouldn't be up for another few hours, how long could they really take?

"Nah, we should be finished with them pretty fast. Nobody will be up for another couple hours, we should be back by then…"

Paul nodded, both secretly hoping that Jacob was right. It was supposed to be a good day, a relaxed day. That was the plan. Neither wanted their other halves to be angry or upset with them for something that they truly _had_ to take care of. So, reluctantly, Jacob turned and trotted behind Paul to the first circuit. Jacob could still feel the sting flowing through him, his body still tense and sore from the harsh contact of the foreign fluid. As much as he would have liked to go in and rest for a little while, to let everyone know what happened, what was going on; he couldn't. Jacob trusted his pack, honestly he did, but he wasn't sure how many vampires were around and what their intentions were. If it was more than a handful the three that were out waiting for him could have easily been over powered.

So, with one last longing glace at the house, Jacob phased and pounded through the forest. His nose sunk to the ground, his body and senses in overdrive awaiting anything that may present itself. He allowed his mind to be overtaken by his wolf, and once again, he was lost to it. He relied only on senses and instincts, no more emotion or feeling left in him to distract or hinder. The emptiness had returned, but he wasn't worried. He was confident that he'd be able to find a middle ground. After the night before, he _had_ to find a middle ground.

* * *

_She could see the hospital lights flashing above her as she was pushed quickly down the hallway towards the trauma room. Everything was so bright, but seemed so blurred. A white haze hung over her vision, keeping her from distinguishing who was who as they all piled over her and tried their best to figure out what had attacked her. The bites were severe, some of them placed perfectly over the most tender of areas. Her neck and chest seemed to be the most affected, two and three bites placed side by side scattered all over her bare flesh. She couldn't piece the whole thing together, only small bits that seemed to flash in and out along with her consciousness. She could see their faces clearly, hear their voices, and could feel every bite that was currently stinging her body. She could remember hitting the ground and closing her eyes, but most of what happened after that seemed too distant to grab hold of. _

_She felt the bed stop moving and, what felt like razor blades, beginning to poke and tear at her skin. She wanted to protest, to make them stop, but she couldn't speak. She couldn't move. All she could do was stare and wait. _

Leah shifted and flung the covers away from her, unknowingly knocking the remaining pillows from the bed. She was sprawled in what seemed like the strangest of positions, her legs curled up to her stomach, her arms flung over her head. As the memories flashed, she could feel her body heating. Her muscles constricted and pulsed, her body trying its best to will her awake.

_She could hear the doctors and nurses cursing under their breath as they continued to jab and pull at her wounds. _

"_What is this?" One doctor asks, holding up a vile of the venom making it's way through her body. _

_The other just shook his head and stared at it. "I don't know, but it's going to kill her if we don't get it out."_

_His words hit her like a pillow case stuffed with bricks. She didn't want to die. Why would she? She wanted to go home to her beautiful babies. The only two things left in this world she felt needed her. They _needed_ her. She knew they did. Who would take care of them? Rachel? Leah was almost positive that Rachel would have enough trouble dealing with Danny when he phased, and she could never fully understand. They needed her there to help them through it…. She _wanted_ to be there. _

_Leah felt a strong wave of pain shoot across her frame, jolting her enough so that her back was arched from the table, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. She could feel it slowly creeping it's way to her heart, to her brain. She already felt as if she were being burned alive, but now she could actually feel it _moving_. She could hear herself begin to scream, her own yelps and groans overpowering the two crying infants she heard in the hallway. Her throat constricted and she found herself unable to breathe. She began gasping, pulling at something, anything, to help her regain the air she needed. The doctors began strapping her down, the machine indicating that her heart rate was much too high, she was spiraling. Her body began to shake violently, every movement, every shake, every touch felt by her. Everything hurt. Everything was painful. Her body locks and her muscles cramp, her eyes are still lolled, she feels her tongue clamped between her teeth and the blood quickly oozing into her throat. _

_She's choking. _

_She hears the twins crying. But cant respond. _

_She's fading. _

_She hears Rachel and Riley yelling, Emily cooing _her_ children as their mother is slowly burning to death from the inside out. _

_She gags. _

_Nothing comes. She feels the hot tears stream down her face as she tries desperately to find some sort of release. She is still grabbing desperately at anything, trying to grasp something that is so far out of reach. She sees his face, now. She wishes he was here. No, she needs him here. She had thought, before, when her children were born that she'd needed him with her, but it wasn't the same. She had _wanted_him to be there for the birth of his children. But right now, in the trauma room of Forks Hospital, Leah Clearwater _needs _Jacob with her. She's so afraid. There's too much to lose now, now that she has those two perfect beings waiting for her. She calls his name, but he doesn't come. She tries again, almost screaming it this time, but nothing happens. She imagines what he'd say if he was there, his comforting words, his strong but loving touch. The tears are pouring now, as she slips further and further into the darkness she'd ran from for so long. Maybe this was it. Maybe this was how she was meant to die. _

_She'd never got to tell him, to tell _them_, how much she loved them. How much she really cared. _

_She hears the beeping stop, all lights fading, all sounds ceasing, all smells disappearing, all feeling just gone… -_

Leah's body is flung upright, the same position she always ended up in after a nightmare. She could smell her own sweat. With one hand she felt around the sheets, releasing an annoyed grunt when they dampen her hand. She really hated how hot their bodies got sometimes. Even in Jacob's icy cold bedroom, she was sure her temperature was still over one hundred and ten degrees. At the least. Leah sighed and stood up, her body feeling unbelievably sore. She tried her best as she made her way to the bathroom to push all thoughts and images from her dream aside, but reaching the sink and looking in the mirror, she was unable. She tried desperately to suppress the building sob, to blink back those annoying tears that tried their best to make an appearance when least welcomed. The room felt unsettling, empty almost. She slowly eased her way through the bathroom door, dizziness threatening to unbalance her, and glanced at the clock.

"Nine thirty." she muttered to herself, annoyed with how tired she still felt.

She stared at the bed where, only a few hours before, she and Jacob rested comfortably. Leah thought over his previous absentness and was confused when she realized he should have been home over an hour and a half ago, if not before. She couldn't help the small bubble of anger that arose. Maybe it was a little over dramatic of her, but she was immediately frustrated, and couldn't for the life of her place why. Because he was gone? She thought over her dream and felt a little embarrassed at the thought that she may, in fact, have been scared and simply wanted him there to assure her that she was more than past that part of her life. Leah still wasn't comfortable with needing someone, not the way she suddenly felt she needed him. The irked feeling she got when she woke up alone… in La Push… all the memories she'd worked so hard to suppress… everything coming back to her at once… It only seemed to make it more clear that she did, in fact, need him. She ground her palms into her eyes and sighed, feeling more sick than anything else. Even through her nausea and seemly queasy feelings, her stomach was still growling for a fix. Leah rolled her eyes at her body's haywire greeting so early in the morning. None of it quelled the still present frustration towards her absent counterpart, and she found herself growing even more aggravated as she scrambled herself some eggs.

She ignored the door opening and kept her attention focused solely on the now disgusting looking eggs in front of her, the smell suddenly making her want to hurl.

"You make enough for me?" Embry beamed, posting himself beside her and grinning.

His small smile faded quickly when she turned the stove off and shoved the hot pan in his direction, grazing his arm with it as it slammed down onto the counter, eggs scattering a short distance. He looked behind him to Brady who was staring at her, obviously shocked.

"Brady could you go outside for a minute?" Embry asked while turning his attention back to Leah.

The younger wolf nodded and rushed out back, with every intention of telling is alpha that his girlfriend was throwing hot pans and eggs. It wasn't really his business, but he was suddenly fearful for Embry's life. He'd sort of grown to like him over the past few years, he didn't want to see him mauled to death.

"Alright.." Embry said slowly, watching Leah as she poured herself a glass of orange juice. "…wanna tell me why you're chunking frying pans at me?"

Leah slowly placed the cap back on the OJ container and brought the cup up to her mouth, taking small, deliberate sips. Embry watched her cautiously, able to imagine that cup flying at his head. She shrugs when he clears his throat, trying to push her forward. Embry sighs and moves closer to her, stopped short by her hand.

"Don't." She says firmly. "Just stay there."

His brows draw in confusion. "Are you alright?"

She shrugs again, this time a heavy breath following. "I don't feel good."

Embry's face reflects nothing but confusion as his head draws back. "Are you sick? I didn't think we could get sick?"

"We cant. I've been… feeling this way for a little while now." She says slowly. "I've been really tired and having really bad nightmares again."

"About what?"

She looks away. "I keep dreaming about the vampires that attacked me…..I used to have them all the time.. But they seem worse somehow. I cant shake that feeling I get from them…like I'm still there. Like nothing changed and everyone is still gone."

Embry honestly doesn't know what to say. He sighs and pinches his nose, having expected anything but what she just told him.

"Leah…" He begins slowly. "…we're here now."

She rolls her eyes. "I know that, dip shit…. I just mean that I keep getting this almost familiar feeling."

Embry notes the odd look that flashes over her features when she says it, and immediately notices when she closes her eyes and puts her cup down. She turns to him and lets out a shaky breath. Neither speak for a moment, both a little lost in their own thoughts. He looks as if he is going to speak again when the backdoor opens, silencing him instantly. Leah flicked her gaze to Jacob who was covered in dirt and sweat. A sight that, on any other day, may have brought a devious grin to her face. But not today. She waited for him to speak, watching as he slowly moved through the kitchen, eyeballing both her and Embry, then shifting his gaze briefly to the discarded eggs scattered across the counter. He cocked a brow and relaxed slightly, folding his arms.

"Em could you give us a minute?" Jacob asked quietly, not yet turning his attention to Leah.

Embry nodded and shuffled to the back door, mouthing a 'later' to Leah before disappearing through it. Leah stood still, unsure of how to go about the argument she figured was soon to come. Whether it was about throwing things or attempting to hurt one of his pack members, she was sure he was harnessing some sort of lecture just for this sort of occasion. She wasn't in the mood for a lecture.

She opens her mouth to speak, but he gets to it first.

"What's wrong?" He asks sincerely, prodding her with his seemingly concerned eyes.

She had to admit, he honestly was unpredictable. The night before -Jesus-… the night before was just strange. She suddenly remembered that they were supposed to have a 'talk' after everyone left and was immensely curious as to whether that was still on the table. Was he being nice to maybe stray her away from the idea they agreed to before having arguably the most comfortable night together since she arrived? Was he just trying to _act_ as if he was trying harder? Was he-

"Lee…?"

She turned to find him standing directly in front of her, his face scrunched in confusion. She met his gaze and remembered why she'd been placed in such a sour mood.

"I had a nightmare." She states as if it were obvious.

She can see his face soften almost a surprising amount, his head falling slightly. "I'm sorry I wasn't here this morning. There was a vampire… then another…..then another… I sent Embry here to check on you guys while I did one last round."

Leah's stomach knotted slightly at the thought. "Was anyone hurt?" She asks, genuinely concerned.

He shook his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Nah, nothing too serious."

She felt his hands slowly trace around the hem of her shorts to the small of her back, pulling her to him. She didn't protest, but didn't help either, falling limp into his chest with her hands slowly returning the glorious hug. He nuzzled her neck softly, immediately bringing a slight smile to her face.

"What was your dream about?" He whispers, her eyes closing from the absolute calm he's producing.

"I was in the hospital, after I got bit." She says, her voice muffled through his chest. "They were talking about how I was going to die…. I kept hearing Talon and Hailey cry…. I got kinda scared."

Jacob couldn't help his hold that tightened when he realized what she was talking about, the thought dragging him back to where he was and what he was doing at that exact moment. He knew, because he'd taken the time to question who was there, and did the math. Leah surprisingly dug further into him, appreciating the sudden comfort he was providing. She had forgotten how perfect he was when he was like this, why she'd decided to confide in _him_ all those years ago.

He didn't say anything, only allowed her whatever sort of comfort she drew from being so close to him. He kissed her neck softly and rested his head lightly on her shoulder, slowly beginning to rock them. Jacob closed his eyes and grinned, thinking of how easy it would be for him to sleep like that. Even standing up.

"Jake?"

Brooke's voice snapped them both from their brief moment, their eyes popping open simultaneously. Leah pulled away first, seeming to be a little more relaxed.

"I'm in here." He calls out.

"We'll talk later, okay?" He whispers. "You can tell me all about it and can ask me whatever you want to know. No limits." He winked and cherished the smile that crept onto her face.

"Sounds like a plan." She half mocks, the small smile broadening and spreading across her face. "Now help me clean up these eggs."

Jacob chuckled but nodded, the two of them scraping the remnants of her breakfast into the garbage can.

"Hey guys." Brooke greeted, her heels clicking loudly on the kitchen floor. "Listen, I wanted to apologize for last night. You were right, Leah, I had no business being there so late. I just want you to know that nothing like that will happen again and I am _so_ sorry if I caused problems between the two of you."

Leah had to suppress the growl she felt building in her stomach and pushing it's way into her chest. She didn't have the patience for her today. She didn't have the patience for her at all. Asking for help with something is one thing. But asking for help with a fucking shower at almost two in the morning was just flat ridiculous. Leah was no idiot. She knew the game Brooke had planned on playing, and she shut it down before she had a chance to weasel her way into Leah and Jacob's new relationship. They had enough working against them.

Jacob sensed her hesitation and cleared his throat loudly. "Apology accepted." He said gruffly. "Just… lets not have any repeats of last night, huh?"

Brooke smiled but continued to flick her gaze to Leah, obviously fishing for a response. Jacob honestly didn't want to hear what Leah had to say to her, he knew beyond a reasonable doubt that it wouldn't be good.

"Yeah of course, Jake. Again… I'm sorry. I'm headed to visit some friends for the day since you guys are having guests over, I dont want to intrude." She smiled at him and casually made her way out the back door.

It took all of five seconds after she was gone for Talon and Hailey to enter, both of them still disheveled and sleep ridden. Talon's short hair was sticking out on every end, his sister's matching for the most part. His one piece ensemble of gym shorts reminding Leah so much of Jacob's day to day attire. They plopped themselves at the kitchen table, both groaning and trying to wake themselves up.

"What are we doing today?" Hailey asked groggily, rubbing her eyes.

"Jeremy, Keegan and John are coming over for dinner." Jacob said casually, turning back to Leah.

"Wonderful." Talon said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Meaning that I'm going to have to play babysitter to miss cant-follow-the-rules over here, right?"

Hailey scoffed in annoyance when her mother burst into laughter, both her parents and brother seeming to find this situation more than amusing. As frustrating as their little games were, she had to admit she was more than relieved they were no longer angry about it. She'd take Jacob's painfully embarrassing jokes over him being pissed at her any day.

"Very funny.." She slaps Talon's shoulder.

"Nah, they'll be enough of us around to keep an eye out. And I'm pretty confident that Hailey will give us no more trouble in that department… right?"

Hailey knew that her answer meant much more than just a silly back and forth banter between family members. Jacob's indirectly serious question, was in fact, what would probably dictate her slow release from the lockdown he'd had her under. So, as her smile faded, she thought up the best answer she could come up with.

"I, uh… I just want to say I'm sorry for all of that… I know I haven't said much to you since then.." She began, fiddling with her fingers. "I understand why I have to be punished….and I know you're not just doing it to be mean.." She grins. "I don't think you've ever been mean to me. I promise you I wont be doing anything like that again. I _can_ follow the rules, despite what this idiot may think, and I will."

Talon chuckled and shook his head, utterly amused with his sister's new tactics. He found himself even more amused with the fact that his father would undoubtedly see right through it. Her 'angel' image had been shot, and she would eventually figure out that Jacob was much smarter than she gave him credit for.

"Glad to hear it." Jacob said while watching Leah attempt another breakfast. "I would say it's okay, but it's not. You're going to have to learn that you cant just break the rules, say you're sorry and everything just magically goes back to the way it was. Like I said, you have a responsibility, and you're going to have to learn to take it seriously. You're still grounded, you will still patrol with at least one partner, you still have to stay away from all borders and you still cant have your stuff back. But…. I accept your apology."

"Thanks." Hailey said shortly, her mood suddenly not-so-light.

After a brief moment of silence, Talon stood and pushed his chair under. "Well.. I'm going to take a shower before everyone gets here."

"I guess I'll use the guest shower." Hailey bit, glaring pointedly at Talon.

"I guess you will." He smirked, throwing her a bird before rounding the corner.

* * *

Jacob waited patiently in the backyard for their guests, their avoidance of all things modern-day-related landing him on wait duty while they used the circuits to get there. The steaks were on the grill and Sue had the girls in the kitchen working on everything else. He began to wish Jeremy wasn't coming. They were having a pretty good day and unfortunately throwing other packs into the mix usually soured a few moods. He couldn't say that he was one of them, he and Jeremy got along fairly well, but some weren't so pleased with the presence of Keegan and John. Others, namely Paul, were more than excited to have someone to tease relentlessly about something.

Jacob couldn't say he hated Keegan. He truly wasn't even really mad about the whole situation anymore. But in the world they live in, rules are rules, and they're placed for a reason. Keegan, more so than anyone, knew the rules very well. His reasoning for talking to her was still a little vague, and Jacob was sure it was nothing more than pure curiosity, but that didn't mean he could just overlook it. Yes, he felt bad that Keegan's punishment probably _far_exceeded the one Hailey was given, but that was just what happened when you have two very different packs. Jacob would never hurt any of his pack members, especially his daughter, over something so trivial as talking to someone from another pack. Sure, he seemed stern and angry enough about it, but that didn't mean he actually was. Jeremy, on the other hand, believed in a very 'hands on' approach when it came to discipline, and he was sure Keegan had felt the brunt of that his entire life.

Jacob was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of someone phasing, two more, then footsteps confirming that they had arrived. He stayed in place, waiting for confirmation before he approached.

"Jacob…" Jeremy spoke. "…always a pleasure." He said, finally emerging from the trees.

"Good to see you." Jacob smiled, shaking Jeremy's hand.

He waited for the other two, who followed shortly after, both wearing noticeable scowls. Keegan seemed to be less that happy with his plans for the day, and Jacob couldn't say he blamed him.

"Hey Keegan, John." Jacob nodded in their direction, receiving slight waves and nods in return.

"Right.. So I guess follow me. The foods almost done, we should be eating soon."

He felt awkward. They had all gotten together before for dinner and cookouts, but there was always a buffer. Every time Jeremy had come to visit, someone else had too. There was always a reason, always some sort of pack related subject that needed to be discussed. There was none of this, awkward, I-don't-know-how-to-act sort of feelings. What else were they supposed to talk about? They weren't exactly friends on any levels outside of the pack, so everyday conversation wasn't all that easy.

As they approached the porch, Jacob was relieved of his suddenly uncomfortable duty by Sue, who had no issues being friendly with the other men.

"Jeremy!" She yelled excitedly. "It's so wonderful to have you over! I feel like I haven't seen you in so long!"

She hugged Jeremy tightly and moved on to Keegan, then John. They returned them awkwardly, neither seeming very comfortable. It wasn't a very regular occurrence for one, or any, of Jeremy's pack members to have to socialize with anyone other than pack members. Things were so much different with people outside of their little world, and Jacob knew better than to think they would just adjust with no issues. They were what some people may call, 'socially handicapped'. They didn't know how to be normal around "outsiders", as they liked to call them, because nothing outside of their everyday _was_ normal to them. He started wondering if Jeremy knew just how uncomfortable he was making them. Although, Jacob was pretty sure he didn't care either way.

"It's good to see you, Sue." Jeremy said politely, his gaze flicking between her and the approaching pack members.

Jacob turned and motioned for them to say hello, giving them the reassurance they were obviously looking for. He stood by and watched as his pack said hello to the guests and all made small talk, things becoming a little more comfortable with those like Paul bringing on light conversation. He looked to the door and saw Leah, Talon and Hailey standing with all the imprints and other two teens who all seemed a little unsure. Catching Leah's eye, he could tell they were a little uncomfortable. Not that he blamed them, their last 'get together' hadn't gone so well.

"Uh, Jeremy… I'm sure you remember Leah." Jacob moved to Leah and took her hand, leading her to the brawny man.

"Of course I do, we just spoke last night." He smiled sweetly, taking her hand and pulling her to him gently. "It's always a pleasure to be in the presence of someone as beautiful as the infamous Leah Clearwater."

Leah chuckled and returned the hug. "It's good to see you too."

Jacob motioned for Talon and Hailey to join them, extending his hand to Hailey who seemed a little less comfortable than her brother, who had all the signs of an almost cocky approach.

"I'm not sure if you ever formally met my daughter, Hailey." Jacob nudged her slightly, hoping she'd be a little more polite than she was with Brooke.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." She said confidently, extending her hand.

Jeremy laughed softly, amused with the young girl's attitude. "Nice to meet you, young lady."

"And if it isn't young Jacob Black himself.. Jesus, he looks exactly like you." Jeremy breathed, shaking Talon's hand.

"Let's hope he's not as defiant." Jeremy joked, earning a series of small laughs from the surrounding group.

Jacob seemed less than amused. He didn't want to go into 'old times' or 'back when'. Those sort of things weren't quite dinner subjects, not unless you wanted a group of giant wolves reliving a bunch of painful memories. That usually didn't lead to anything good.

"Talon, Leah, this is my son Keegan." Jeremy introduced, bringing Keegan forward. "I believe he and Hailey have already met."

Jacob peeked over to Hailey and had to stifle a laugh. She was obviously not going to find their little antics funny when it came time to drill the young wolf about sneaking around with the alpha's daughter. Which would only make doing it all the more hilarious. Poor kids.

"Nice to meet you Keegan." Leah said calmly, offering him a supportive smile.

"You too, Miss Clearwater." He returned the smile. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Nice to meet you Talon…" Keegan hesitated when Talon didn't respond. "… and, uh, good to see you Hailey."

Paul's head finds its way over Talon and Hailey's shoulders. "I'll bet it is."

Jacob rolled his eyes and refused to allow the laugh he knew was lingering inside his chest to escape. Although, Jeremy seemed just as amused as Talon and the others were.

"Okay, boys, let's eat!" Sue said over the loud chatter flowing throughout the back porch. "Grab a plate, they're on the counter, and make your way down the line. Single file, please, I don't want any messes. Drinks are on the table across the deck and in the cooler beside it."

Jeremy and Keegan linger behind with Jacob, while John follows Embry and Quil inside behind the others. Jacob sees Rachel and the other imprints still standing to the side with Danny and Alex, an awkward look about them. With a heavy breath, having had his fill of introductions and hellos, he waves them over.

"Jeremy, Keegan…" Jacob begins when they reach them. "This is Emily.. Sam's imprint." She smiles and offers a small wave. "This is Quil's imprint, Clair." She offers nothing but a strange smile. "Uh.. This is Rachel, my sister, and Paul's imprint." Rachel shakes both hands and says a friendly hello. "These are our newest pack members; Danny, Paul's son, and Alex… Jared's son."

Jeremy looks over the two teens and quirks a brow, apparently finding them pretty interesting. "So…..she makes the third female in your pack?"

Jacob immediately feels tense. He hates discussing that. It's always a sore subject and never fuel for a good conversation. It seemed to be some weird trait throughout the other packs… this odd 'claiming' thing with the only present females. He despised being asked about them.

"Yes. Leah, Hailey and Alex." Jacob says shortly, folding his arms. "You guys ready to eat?"

Jeremy gets the point, and they all make their way into the crowded kitchen.

Dispersing throughout the large back deck and the few picnic tables around the back yard, everyone finally sits down to eat, all engaged in light and relaxed conversation. Jacob seats himself at the larger table on the porch with Jeremy and his two, the table consisting of Sam and Emily, Jacob's small group and Paul's. About halfway through their meal, Jacob notices Paul's most annoying smirk making it's way to his face, sounding off a thousand warning bells in his head. Paul says nothing, but continues to smirk, obviously waiting for the perfect opportunity for whatever he's planning.

"I'm taking this stuff in, anyone else finished?" Leah asks while standing, pushing her chair in.

"We're finished, I'll carry them in with you." Jeremy offers, standing and following her to the kitchen.

As soon as the back door closes, Paul drops his fork and places his elbows on the table, smiling wildly. "Sooo, Keegan.."

With his direction very clear, Hailey shoots Jacob the best 'oh-God-please-don't-let-him-do-this' look he had ever seen. But, he couldn't bring it upon himself to interrupt.

"I understand you were meeting with Hailey over here for a while?"

Jacob grinned, peeking over to take in Keegan's still very calm expression. He was almost certain he'd prepared himself for this. It was quite inevitable, after all.

"Yes, sir." Keegan replies, following suite and placing his forearms on the table.

"If you don't mind me asking… what exactly were you two doing?" Paul's smile fades, but Jacob recognized the mock seriousness it was replaced with.

They were playing a game, and as soon as the question was asked, Jacob saw a few others from his pack approaching and pulling chairs up to the table, amusement plastered to their features. Hailey didn't say anything, nor did she move, or breathe for that matter. It was safe to say she was less than pleased with direction they were heading in, and she wasn't shy about making it known.

"You guys are so stupid." She mumbles loud enough for them to hear, but her comment only fuels Paul's current drive.

"We just talked." Keegan answered honestly, his gaze beginning to shift over to the girl in question every so often.

"Right….what did you talk about?" Embry pipes in, placing an arm on Paul's shoulder and leaning.

"Nothing specific. Just casual conversation I guess."

Looking around at the surrounding pack members, Keegan felt the slight sting of nerves hit him. It wasn't like him to get nervous, or anxious, but he _was _surrounded by another pack who all seemed pretty adamant about getting whatever they were looking for.

"mhmm…" Paul raised a brow, not sure how to tell if he's lying. "Well you obviously wanted something from her if you kept coming back… so what was it?"

It was Keegan's turn to raise a brow. "Umm.. I'm not sure I understand what you're asking.."

"It's easy. What did you want from her?"

"I didn't _want_ anything. I was just curious." He manages out, leaning back in his chair slightly to try and get some air through all the smoke that was being created.

"Curious about what?" Talon hadn't planned on being apart of this whole tirade, but Keegan's last answer sparked a few interests, and he just couldn't help himself.

"I'd never met a female shifter before, and I don't really talk to many people outside our pack… I was just curious as to how things worked outside of the way we do things."

Jacob was fairly impressed with how he was handling the whole thing, the intimidation factor really not seeming to play out correctly. So, instead of wasting a perfectly good opportunity to poke at a fellow shape shifter, he motioned for Sam to take a swing.

"and it had nothing to do with the fact that she _is_ a female shape shifter and you're just naturally attracted to her?" Sam spoke up, surprising those seated around him.

Keegan flinched. "Um, no. It was nothing like that."

"So you're telling me that you're alone, in the woods, nobody around, with a female that's like you and has a natural pull over you… and you had nothing but pure thoughts? No thoughts of sleeping with her ever crossed your mind?"

Jacob smiled, impressed with how blunt, and forceful, Sam was being. He didn't participate in these sort of things regularly. He could see Keegan's face turn a light shade of pink for the slightest of seconds, not quite matching the shade Hailey was flaunting though. She looked as though she was going to burst.

"Is that really necessary?" She asked Jacob, her voice more forceful than she'd intended.

Jacob only shrugs and turns his attention back to Keegan. She's trying to distract him, and any other time he may have halted it, but Sam's last question was an interesting one. And Jacob found himself immensely interested in the answer.

He caught the brief glance Keegan offered Hailey, a much softer look about him than before. It was unsettling to see that she did, in fact, have some sort of effect on him.

"Honestly, no. I told you, it wasn't like that. We just talked, I found her interesting. That's the only reason I continued meeting with her, and nothing like that ever happened." Keegan released a heavy breath with his answer and found himself more uncomfortable than he'd been his entire life.

Hailey, who was used to getting picked at, just couldn't get used to the annoying 'disappointed' glances she kept getting from the pack, and imprints. Rachel kept giving her this half-scold sort of thing, and Emily just seemed appalled that any of this actually happened. She was losing her patience with this little game, and she had thought her father would have enough decency to stop it before it got to where it was. But he was obviously just as amused as the rest of them.

"Okay, don't you think that's enough?" She asked, annoyed. "Can we stop talking about this now?"

She had expected a few snorts or odd glances, but what she received caught her off guard. Paul shot her a strange glare, apparently finding this more than amusing, they all seemed to be generally curious as to what went on and were only trying to make it into an inconspicuous game of twenty questions. Sam just shook his head and her and mumbled a very firm, 'no'. Beginning to feel they were pushing their limits with this whole thing, Jacob sat up to stop it before anyone got really upset, but Hailey beat him to it. She stood up and shoved her chair back, knocking it over and snatched her plate from the table, small pieces of food flying across the deck. She stomped into the house and slammed the door, ignoring the "awww, C'mon!" statements following her in.

"Are you uncomfortable with this?" Paul asks Keegan, his face completely serious.

"Uh… no?" Keegan offers sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders.

"Good… so anyway… where were we?"

Jacob rolls his eyes and sits back in his chair, contemplating whether he should go drag Hailey from the pissy fit she's most likely having, or sit and listen to the rest of the questions these fools come up with. In the end, Paul caught his attention.

"So, are you a virgin?"

* * *

"Here, let me help you with those." Jeremy says while taking a few dishes from Leah.

"It's really not necessary, I'm just loading the dishwasher."

"I know, but it will go much quicker with us both doing it." He smiles.

Leah cant quite understand his sudden change in attitude, not that she really knew him before, but from what Jacob and the others say, this isn't the usual Jeremy. As much as she tries to tell herself asking would be rude, she cant seem fight back the words making their way up her throat.

"So, um… I don't mean to be rude or anything, and I hope you don't take offense.." Leah began, passing him a few more plates from the sink. "..but uh, the others tell me that you're really not a social person.. You're more about the pack. So I guess I was just wondering what brought this on.."

Jeremy smiled and nodded slowly. "I'm usually not, none of us are in all honesty. But after everything with Keegan and Hailey I started to wonder if the way we live is having a negative impact on our pack members. We're very secluded and aren't around people very often. I thought maybe this would be a good, safe way to get a few of them out and interact with some others like them."

Leah watched him as she continued to hand dishes off, surprised with how honest he was being. "You, uh… you don't feel weird with me asking do you?"

"Of course not! I believe talking is key to any good relationship." He says, half laughing. "Making friends is the whole point to this little exercise."

Leah's smile fades slightly, comparing Jeremy to Jacob, an almost spiteful laugh escaping her. "I wish it were that easy with Jacob."

Jeremy's brows furrow as he stops what he's doing. "What do you mean?"

Leah hesitates slightly, unsure of what good could come of talking to him about her personal problems. She looks up and meets his eye, finding comfort in the calm and honesty she finds there. He's there to make friends, right? She honestly couldn't see the harm it would cause. She felt comfortable with him. He reminded her of Embry, the urge to talk to him whenever something was bothering her ever present when he was around.

"Well….we've just been having…_problems…_since I've been back." She forces out, turning back to continue the dishes.

"Let me guess… he wont talk to you." Jeremy half jokes. "I find it happens a lot amongst those of us who were involved with the war."

Leah sighs. "I know it has something to do with all that happened, he just wont tell me what. He has all these nightmares and gets so moody sometimes…. He has these moments when he wants nothing to do with us and will find any reason to get out of the house and away from everything here."

As soon as she starts talking, she finds herself unable to stop. "I just don't understand. When I first got here he was so…determined…to get me to stay. Now that I'm here, he just seems so-"

"Distant." Jeremy finishes, nodding along with everything she's saying. "I understand what you mean. Jacob is a very complicated person, but simple at the same time. He needs all these things; family, friends, a home. But when he has them, he doesn't know what to do with them. The thought of letting the past go scares him. He was the strongest in his life when we were at war, and that was only possible because he let himself go. He gave in to the wolf and lost himself to it. That was the only way to survive, and we all did because of him."

Jeremy stops, a thoughtful look spreading over his features. "He doesn't know how to get himself back. It's… sort of a war in itself trying to fight the urge to revert back to that default. It's the easiest way for him to deal with things. The memories hurt, and when he's in that mindset, they cant touch him. Only problem is, more often than not, that mindset is also what tells him to get away from this place. Our wolves are only strong when fighting battles relevant to them. Things like home and family, it doesn't understand them. That's why we have to find that balance. Our wolf is weak at home, but strong in the field. Our human is strong at home, weak in the field, but always necessary."

Leah gapes at him, allowing everything he's said to soak in. "Wow. You're much more insightful than I originally thought…" She shakes her head. "I mean.. not that I thought you looked stupid, I just thou-"

"I understand Miss Clearwater, no need to apologize." He gives her a reassuring smile and closes the dishwasher, turning it on before stepping away and leaning on the counter.

"You can call me Leah, really, no need for formalities."

Jeremy nods and looks to the floor. "I know that I'm not really in a place to give you advice, I'm not much better than Jacob myself.. I guess it's just easier to give direction than to take it…" He turns to her. "You obviously love him, and I know from first hand experience that he loves you… you just have to give him time, as hard as that is to fathom. He'll come around. He always finds a way through whatever obstacle he's faced with. You just have to trust him, though I know that's easier said than done."

They chuckle lightly for a moment, whatever connection Leah had previously thought present between them confirmed in a matter of minutes. Their laughter dies down and she folds her arms, thinking of how to word her next sentence correctly.

"Thank you…for the advice, and the amazing insight." She laughs softly. "I, um.. I was just wondering if you would want to hang out sometime. Like…don't wait so long between your next visit, ya know? I like talking to you, and if you came here to make friends… then I can say with confidence you've found one with me."

She smiles a broad and toothy smile, earning one in return. "You're welcome, and I would love to come back and 'hang out' with you."

"Just let me know when is good for you and we'll make dinner again, just without the entire pack." She grins, looking to the back door just in time to see Hailey stomping towards them.

"Uh oh…" Jeremy says quietly. "…looks like they had a little too much fun with them out there."

Leah groans when Hailey bursts through the back door and throws her plate roughly into the garbage. "I'm going to my room." She half yells, not so much as glancing at her mother and their guest.

"I guess they did." Leah nods, peeking outside to find the gathered group around Keegan laughing. "You should probably go save your son… he looks a little cornered out there."

They share another laugh and Jeremy nods, moving towards the back door. "It was nice talking to you, Leah. I look forward to next time."

She smiles. "Me too."

* * *

**a/n…. dear GAWD! This was probably the longest chapter I've written… EVER! And I only did it because I made you guys wait so dang long, and because this chapter had a lot to incorporate anyways. I sort of cut it off because I'd gotten through the main parts. Next chap will be after dinner, Jacob/Leah…. Maybe a little Talon and Hailey's spoiled little ass thrown in there. =) Hope you enjoyed. Review PLEASE! Loves!**


	34. Trust pt 1

**It All Started With a Promise**

**By: Cucumber07**

**Chapter 34- Trust pt. 1**

_It is an equal failing to trust everybody, and to trust nobody_

"You want some?"

Jacob didn't have to turn around to know that Hailey was standing behind him. She'd been there for about ten minutes. For whatever reason she'd yet to enter the kitchen, and he didn't mind. He figured she was still mad, and in a way she had an okay reason to be. They did kind of embarrass her. He continued scooping the chocolate ice cream into his bowl, looking over his shoulder to check for some sort of silent answer.

She shrugs. "Yeah… I guess."

He nods and takes another bowl from the freshly stocked cabinet, all of the dishes still warm from the dishwasher. "Strawberry?" He guesses.

She's always preferred strawberry.

"Sure." Hailey answers, slowly dragging herself to the kitchen table.

He finishes and tosses the two tubs in the freezer, grabbing them both a spoon and moves to sit across from her. The first few bites were eaten in silence, Jacob not really wanting to push for another tantrum, and Hailey refusing to acknowledge the fact that she may have overreacted. He peeks up at her, noticing when she begins to pick and poke at the slowly melting desert, her lips pushing into her world famous pout. He wasn't sure which route she was going to take, but he knew what she was trying to do.

Like him, apologizing had never been one of Hailey's strong points. Even so, it seemed that both of them spent most of their time doing just that. Him for constantly seeming to complicate and confuse his priorities, and her for the complete lack of respect for rules. He couldn't say it came as a surprise. As far as him and his pack were concerned, the only rules they'd ever had to abide by, some from the time they were 13, were inside _of_the pack. Regular rules and regular discipline had never quite applied to them. Their childhoods were nonexistent for the most part. They had to be adults.

Looking back, their lack of knowledge when addressing raising their children had played a large part in the fact that all the current teenagers had their share of issues with authority, and he knew it was probably more their fault than anything. Talon was a surprise when it came to falling in with the pack, he'd taken on the responsibilities with a smile on his face. Alex was used to it, and still completely uncomfortable for the most part. But as for Danny and Hailey, they were a class all their own.

"Why'd you let them do that?" Hailey pulled him from his thoughts, still staring at her bowl.

"Do what?" Jacob asks, unsure of which "that" she was referring to.

She huffs loudly. "You know what I'm talking about, dad." She looks up and drops her spoon. "You could have said something, you could have made them stop."

"I cant control what they say." He shrugs.

"You're their alpha, I'm pretty sure you can tell them to stop something like that.. It's none of their business." She sits back in her chair, folding her arms.

He pauses for a moment, swallowing the first few responses that pop into his head. Maybe it's time for a different approach.

"I know this is a hard transition for you." He says calmly, forcing her to look at him. "You guys weren't really involved with the pack before now. It's a completely different world."

"I don't understand what that has to do with them sticking their noses where they don't belong."

He grins and finishes off his ice cream, mimicking her position and sitting back. "It is their business." He states simply. "Everything that we do is their business because everything we do affects them in some way or another. They've all been around you since you were little, they care about you. So you're telling me that people who have done for you nonstop since they found out you were my daughter, have no right to care enough to want to protect you?"

Hailey continued to stare at the table, bouncing her leg. "You're my dad. You're the one who should worry about that, not them." She said shortly.

Jacob sighs and folds his arms, ducking his head. "See… this is how it works." He begins, clearing his throat and propping his arms on the table. "Joining the pack is a pretty big transition from the way you and Talon have lived. You've been away from all of this, you've ran around your whole life throwing tantrums and getting whatever you wanted just because you think that's fair. That's not how it works anymore."

"Now, there's a few things I think you need to really understand… When we're out there; patrolling, talking to other packs, dealing with whatever problems may present themselves… I cant be your father. I'm not. When we're out there, I'm your alpha. But, _as_ my daughter, you shouldn't _want_ to make things more difficult for me."

He can see the small tears pooling at the corners of her eyes, her bottom lip is quivering slightly as she continues to fidget and bounce her legs. Why she's actually crying, he cant be sure. He supposed it could have been guilt, or just another attempt to get him to lay off. Either way, he continued on, his tone soft and calm.

"Things are hard enough, you know that. Hell, everyone knows that. Our world has a balance. Rules, certain ways things are done. Granted, Jeremy, myself and the high council are the only ones that actually _enforce_ these rules; they are still followed and respected amongst all packs throughout Washington. The tiniest misstep, the smallest movement, the quietest of whispers, one wrong word; and the whole thing tips. With imbalance, comes problems. For you, for me, for everyone. Packs outside of ours are so different. They don't care. They don't know how. It's a constant battle within ours to find that middle ground, somewhere that we can be both happy and strong. It creates a place for our family, but still leaves room for us to do our duty."

She sniffs. "So why are you so unhappy?" She wipes the tears from her eyes, trying to avoid looking up. "If you're constantly trying, if it's what you really want, why is it so hard?"

Her question almost makes him want to laugh. It was similar to the million questions he'd been asking himself for years now. Questions he's yet to find the answers to.

"I don't know. We haven't quite found it yet. It's all far from perfect. But I don't want you to think I'm _un_happy. I'm ecstatic that you and Talon and your mother are here with me. I'm even more excited that you and Talon are apart of the pack. Our problems, mine and others in our pack, they all come from the same place." He pauses and closes his eyes, completely unsure of where he's taking the conversation. "I don't know how to explain it to you. I've been trying to explain it to myself for years. We all have our own personal issues, things we have to work out. The pack is bigger than any one person's personal problems. We have to look at the bigger picture, the bigger purpose."

"Yeah, but if that effects you at home… isn't that kind of unfair?" She finally looks up, her silent tears still visible above her bottom lid.

"It's all unfair Hay…" He blows out a heavy breath. "You have no idea what goes on outside of La Push and Jeremy's rez. I guarantee that if you saw it, if you saw what other people have to live in, you'll see your life a thousand times differently."

Hailey tucks her hair behind her ears, a small smile forming. "Will you show me?"

"One day, sure." He nods. "When we're sure that things are settled down, I'll take you to one of the packs we're assigned to. I'll let you help out with some of the things we do."

She quirks a brow. "Assigned to?"

"There's a lot of things you have to learn. You, Talon and Danny have a lot to be introduced to, and you will be. There are so many things that go on you have no clue about, you just have to be patient. You have to follow the rules, you have to learn how to do things. It's a watch and learn process. Nobody other than maybe me or Sam are going to take the time to show you anything. You have to pay attention, you have to learn by experience. Unless it's something dangerous, just look at what the others are doing. I promise you, there's more to learn from any of the guys in our pack than anything I could say to you in words. You just have to put yourself out there. Do what you're told… have some respect for those of us who know what we're doing."

She flinched a little, having never meant to make it seem as if she didn't respect them. It wasn't anything about respect. Maybe it really was just her wanting to get her way no matter what. She'd felt guilty about causing problems, and she'd apologized once. But it was different now. She couldn't help the relief that washed over her listening to him talk to her like this. It was more than an oddity coming from her father. He was never a talker. Not when it came to things like this.

"I respect all of you." She says quietly. "And I'm really sorry for causing problems. I never meant to make things harder for you. I honestly didn't think that just _talking_to Keegan would be such a big deal. I knew it was a rule, I'm not denying it or playing stupid, I just didn't think that it was something that would hurt or cause harm to anyone."

Jacob shook his head and sighed, his mixed feelings on the subject coming back into play. He'd decided to be honest with her, maybe be reasonable with her rather than threaten or punish, but honesty always brought him to this crossroad. His pack members had rules to follow, they had to believe they were doing the right thing, planting doubt would only plant possibility for more issues.

"I, uh… I honestly _wouldn't_have had such a problem with it….had it not been who it was." He sees the confusion present itself on her face. "Keegan is Jeremy's son. And I know that it's hard for you to understand the difference, but Jeremy is really big on example. He, and his children, have a specific example to set. They are the ones putting down the stepping stones for all new or unsure pack members. Keegan breaking one of our rules, with not only a member of my pack, but my_ daughter_, completely destroys that image. I couldn't risk him finding out another way and blowing his fucking stack… it wouldn't have been pleasant for any of us. I like Keegan, he's a good kid, but it's just the mechanics."

They sat in silence for a moment, giving Hailey a chance to get herself together. He sees her grin and allows himself a small smile, feeling fairly confident with how their little 'talk' turned out. He felt a little dumb thinking back on all the times he told Leah and everyone else that tried that 'talking' was a stupid ass waste of time. Now, the one time he tries it with his unbelievably stubborn daughter, she seems as if she's responding better than she had with anything else.

"I like talking to him." She says suddenly, sitting up and squaring with him. "I'm not used to people like him."

"I know."

It wasn't meant to piss him off, but the simple answer he gave took her completely by surprise. He shrugged and leaned back to stretch, giving her a reassuring smile. "Just try and behave, huh?"

"I'll be better, I promise." She threw a toothy smile, putting her bowl in his.

Before either could say anything else, the backdoor opens slowly, Colin's head peeking through the small crack. "Hey, uh, I'm here to get Hailey. We have patrols tonight."

Jacob nodded for her to go, smacking the back of her leg as she passed. He waited until he heard the door closing to get up, taking the two bowls and walking them over to the sink.

"Hey dad?" The back door popped back open a tad.

"yeah?"

"Thank you."

Jacob shook his head and rolled his eyes playfully, pulling the door the rest of the way open. "Sure, sure. Get out of here before Sam starts goin off about ya'll being late."

He closed the door and let out a loud breath. "One down."

He shut off the kitchen light and pushed all the chairs in before heading to the stairs, looking up for a moment before taking the first step. "One more to go…"

* * *

Peeking through the door, he could immediately tell she was almost asleep. He grinned, closing it quietly behind him. He looked around the room and took in a few things he hadn't noticed before. Extra pictures in frames he knew he wouldn't have picked out, pictures he knew he hadn't taken. His comforter was gone, replaced with her much nicer, much more expensive looking bed set. His blackout curtain was still there, but overtaken by curtains matching the bed and, now that he's paying attention, lamp shades that have replaced his very dull cream colored ones. The room even smelled different. It smelled like her. He glanced over at the closet, seeing her clothes hanging there with his. She had more than she did the first time they lived together. He remembered her closet back then; bare, with only a handful of wearable items hanging in no specific order. She separated them now, it seemed. They weren't mixed with his, but took up so much room that he was sure nothing else could possibly fit. Then again, she always had a way of making things work.

Noticing the closet, he took a second to peek into his once barely vacated drawers. They were full. All of them. He couldn't help but smile. It didn't look like his room anymore; it looked like _their_room. The color may have been purple, but it was a dark purple. Something he would have agreed on had she asked permission. He stood in the doorway of the bathroom, seeing all the differences there too. His shower curtain had been the same color as his lamp shades, pale and boring. Now his bathroom looked completely transformed. Browns, blues and beiges all mixed together perfectly in the oddest of places. He'd never understand interior design, that he was sure of, but he appreciated Leah's taste. At least he didn't have to worry about pinks or butterflies. The light fixtures had even been changed. There were mats on the floor, covers on the toilet, various odds and ends placed all over the counter and shelves. It made it so much warmer. Looking around, he wondered how much she had actually changed that he hadn't noticed.

He'd take a few minutes to look around tomorrow.

He shut off the bathroom lights and cracked the door, taking his shirt and pants off on his way to the bed and tossing them in the hamper. The new hamper, he noticed. He pulled back the sheets on his side and slid underneath them, reaching over and pulling her as close as their bodies would allow. He couldn't even fathom how at home he felt. He hadn't felt that way in so long. He honestly had almost forgotten what home was. Not really having much to go on, he figured this was what it consisted of. Everything about his house had changed, all the empty memories and hollow feelings floating around were now replaced with something new. The air was even different.

He felt her snuggle into him and smiled, nuzzling her neck and sliding his hands underneath the thin material of her tank top. He kissed her neck softly, waiting for her to speak, a little surprised when she said nothing. Listening closely, it still didn't sound like she was completely out. Her heartbeat wasn't right, he thought.

"Hey Baby…" Jacob whispers, brushing her hair from her face.

"Hmm?"

He sighs when she doesn't move, her response indicating that she was more than likely too far gone to have any sort of conversation. He traces his fingers through her hair softly, kissing her head a few more times before settling into his pillow.

"I love you, Leah." He says a little louder. "More than anything... I hope you know that."

* * *

"Hey there Hailey. S'your dad home?"

Hailey leaned over the railing of the back porch, looking down on Jeremy and Keegan approaching from the wood line. She sighed slightly, more than over their visit the day before and completely unwilling to go through that sort of humiliation again.

"Uh, yeah, you wanna come in while I find him?" She asked politely, forcing a smile to her face.

"That would be great."

She waited for them to reach the top step and led them in through the backdoor. "You can have a seat in the living room, I'll be right back."

"Thank you, sweetheart."

When she reached the top of the stairs, the fact that Jeremy was sitting in their living room without Jacob suddenly struck her as odd. He was usually about five steps ahead of anyone that even _thought_about stepping foot on their land. She ran down the hall to his room, now a little worried as to his whereabouts and wellbeing. Without bothering to knock, she opened the door and stuck her head in.

"Dadddyyy…" She whispered harshly, noticing the still dark room.

She waited for a few seconds before tip toeing over to his side of the bed, shaking his shoulder when she reached him. "Daddy, wake up…. Jeremy is here to see you."

Jacob finally moved, stretching his arms out and groaning before sitting up. "What does he want?" He returns the hushed tone, peeking over to Leah before standing.

"I don't know…why aren't you freaking out? You always freak out when someone else is on our land…"

She followed him as he shuffled over to his dresser, snatching a white t shirt from one of the drawers and pulling it over his head. "It's just Jeremy." He shrugged. "Why don't you see if Keegan wants a drink or something while I talk to his dad."

Hailey froze, eyes wide, as he continued to the door. "Uhh…. I thought-"

"They're already here. You're with us, I see no harm." He winked and rounded the corner, leaving her still completely shocked.

Jacob reached the bottom of the stairs, grinning when he heard Hailey finally following, and nodded in Jeremy's direction. "How's it goin'?"

"Not sure yet, I'll let you know after we discuss our newest complication." He laughed humorlessly, finally seating himself on the loveseat.

"Yeah…" Jacob sighed, plopping himself into the couch cushions. "..sounds great."

Jacob flicked his gaze to the stairs as Hailey finally reached the last step, still seeming fairly confused.

"Uh, Keegan come here." She almost ordered, motioning for him to follow her.

He looked to Jacob first, receiving a simple nod, then to Jeremy who gave the same. The young wolf shrugged and stood, following Hailey into the kitchen then through the back door to the deck.

"Right, so what is it this time?" Jacob turned back to Jeremy. "Wolf, leech, both?"

Jeremy sighed and shook his head, his brows furrowing. "That's just it, I have no idea."

* * *

**a/n. I cut this into two parts so I didn't end up with another mile long chapter. Next chapter has alot of Jeremy and Keegan in it, they'll be in most of the chapters after this. Juusst a forewarning. lol. Leave me reviews loves. =)**

**And of course, I love my favorite wilfy ladies. Kei, Ses, Hilja; I will be awaiting all of your spectacular reviews. =) Loves you guys. **


	35. Trust pt 2

It All Started With a Promise

**By: Cucumber07**

**Chapter 35- Trust pt. 2**

_What a fool Honesty is. _

_And trust, his sworn brother, a very simple gentleman. _

"What do you mean you don't know?"

Jacob shifted so he was sitting on the edge of the sofa, staring intently at the other alpha. It was very rare that Jeremy was clueless as to what he was dealing with. 'I don't know', coming from him, was like lighting fireworks that spell out trouble.

"Well, all I know is that _something_ has been crossing our borders. There are footprints and a clear path where it's been, but no scent and no sign of it. I've had my entire pack patrolling constantly. I didn't want to bring it to your attention until I was sure it was going to cause problems…"

Jacob was well aware of what that meant. 'Causing problems', in their language, didn't mean scaring little kids or tipping over trashcans. The only way Jeremy would bring another alpha into his business would either be involving something he couldn't handle, or something that was completely out of his reach. In this case, it seemed to be the latter.

"What has it done? Do you have any idea what it may be after?"

Jacob could hear himself getting anxious. He could feel his stomach beginning to turn thinking of something that got past Jeremy and his pack. There were very few beings that were capable of that, none of which meant anything good. He'd worked with the man for a long time and, like him, little ever got past their ears and noses.

"I found someone, in the woods, dead. They were near the far ravine on the northern end," he said dryly. "We tried tracking it from there, but it crossed back over not long after that."

"Whose land is it crossing from?" Jacob stares at his hands, desperately trying to think of something, _anything_, that could cover it's scent.

"Garrett's. I've tried calling over there, but nobody ever answers. I was thinking of going over there," he huffed.

Jacob nods, distant. "Yeah. We should make sure they're alright. I haven't been over there in a few months. When do you want to go?"

They sit in silence for a moment, both seemingly off in their own separate worlds. Jeremy finally stands, letting out a heavy breath. "Today?"

"I'll have to get everyone together and let them know. After that we're good to go," he says, sighing.

"I'll get my pack and meet you back here. Is it alright if leave Keegan here?"

"Of course. I'm sure he'll be just fine," he smiles and rises, nodding towards the back door.

"Yeah, I'll bet."

"As far as patrolling goes," Jacob begins. "I think until we figure out what's going on, we should lift the borders."

Jeremy stopped for a moment, turning back to Jacob who has moved across the room so that he's standing at the stairs. Nobody had ever lifted borders before. There had never been two alphas close enough to dare allow each other's packs onto their lands, it was against the rules, against everyone's better judgment. Jeremy knew that Jacob was more than trustworthy, and above all, he was a loyal man. He'd proved time and time again that he'd lay his life down to save Jeremy, and for that, Jeremy knew better than to think he'd double cross him for any reason.

"You think the High Council would approve?"

"I honestly don't give a shit," Jacob says, shrugging. "They don't help us with anything involving threats, why should we have to look to them when it comes to protecting our own. Lifting borders gives us all better access to those small no-man's-land areas. We need all the man power we can get, and access to as much ground as we can cover."

Jeremy nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me. I'll inform mine on the way here, fill Keegan in when you address your pack."

"Agreed."

* * *

"So how much trouble did you get in?"

Keegan asked Hailey from his seat on the railing, fiddling with the can in his hand. It seemed to him that she was doing anything possible to avoid the subject, of course making him want to discuss it all the more. Uncomfortable subjects seemed to be their median, and he still owed her for the girlfriend conversation.

"It wasn't too bad," she sighed, "he took all my stuff from me and yelled a lot. I think he made me feel worse when he _didn't_ yell."

Keegan laughed. "He was disappointed wasn't he?"

"That's the understatement of the century." Hailey smiled. "I get it though. After he explained it to me, and after being mad at me for like ever, I think I got a grip on what he was talking about. I guess asking him to hang out with you would have been easier."

"You were right, ya know?" Keegan peeked up at her. "When you said he's more understanding than I think. Where we are right now is pretty good proof of that."

Hailey chuckled and nodded, remembering their little talks. It seemed like so long ago. Although she'd gotten in trouble and basically ruined her 'good girl' image with her dad, she missed seeing Keegan everyday. It was a little stupid, and she was sure she was being what her mother loved to call her all the time, _naïve_. But she couldn't deny the connection she felt with him. It was just one of those things that stuck with her everywhere she went. There were few people that she honestly felt comfortable with, and though she'd only known him for a short time, he was one of them. He was different, and in a way, special. To her anyway.

"What are you thinking about?" Keegan asks, pulling her from her thoughts.

"Nothing, just, uh…" she pauses, unsure of which lie to use.

After waiting for a few moments, Keegan smiles and jumps down. He pushes past the initial awkwardness he feels from actually being able to not only talk to her, but be in the same vicinity as her without the possibility of getting mauled, and slowly moves to sit on the chair beside her. He rests his elbows on his knees and leans forward, tilting his head so that he can see her.

"C'mon, seriously." He nudges her arm, scooting a little closer. "What were you thinking about?"

Hailey can feel her cheeks heating before she's even said anything, and before she is able to open her mouth and answer, he's laughing.

"Are you blushing?"

"Shut up, asshole." Hailey shoves him, fighting back a laugh. "I was just thinking about how, uh, how much I liked hanging out with you."

He shifts his gaze to the wood floor, fiddling with his fingers while thinking up some sort of response that would make any sense. The fact that he was having so much trouble just reminded him of how horrible he was at all this. He wasn't good with words, he wasn't good with relationships, he wasn't good with _people_ in general. He closed his eyes briefly, quickly becoming frustrated with his lack of skill in this department. He was good at everything else. Whatever he was told to do, inside of the pack that is, he did perfectly. He was fast, he was strong, he was smart and had great instincts; he wasn't used to being _bad_ at anything. He was the alpha's son. Everything came second nature to him. Everything accept for _this_.

He didn't understand anything he felt. He didn't understand why she would want to hang out with him. She was gorgeous, and smart. She had a great family, a great life. Everyone that was around her, loved her. She had a brother who was obviously more than willing to protect her, a brother who was her best friend no matter what. What exactly could she have possibly seen in _him_? He had nothing to offer. He understands position, and as far as that went, he was a fucking brute. He was rough and worn, barely old enough to be considered an adult, but old enough pack wise to challenge for beta. It was all about what you did inside the pack, and he'd done more than enough to earn his place. The thought of how different they were began to push his mind towards why he cared to begin with. What is it called? -Does he _like_ her?

What does that word entail? What does _love_ entail? How do you know when either of them apply to you? He shakes his head and pinches the bridge of his nose, trying his best to think of something to say before she writes him off as insane.

"Why?" He finally decides, almost unable to look to her for the answer.

He feels her move, turning to see her shifting her position so that she was facing him completely. Against his better judgment, he follows suit and repositions himself. Their legs are pressed together, their hands dangling in between only a few inches apart. He's so uncomfortable that he's sure if she moves even a centimeter closer, he'll phase on the spot and will be forced to run like hell in any direction but hers. Even so, he stays put, watching her hands intently.

"I don't know," she says quietly, "I guess I just like you."

"That's what I'm asking, Hailey." He looks up and lets out a loud breath. "I don't understand why you like me, being around me, whatever."

Her brows furrow and she shakes her head, confused about what his question really held. "Why wouldn't I?"

"You're kidding right?" He laughs humorlessly. "We're completely different. You have no idea what I'm capable of, what any of us are capable of, what you're _supposed_ to be capable of."

"But I don-"

"He would never make you do anything like that," he finishes her thought with ease. "That's the difference. Jacob would rather die than watch you do something he thought you'd regret. He's not supposed to care, just like we're not supposed to. But he does, and he's not afraid to admit it. My father, my brothers; they are. I don't know if you'll ever fully understand how a pack is supposed to run because Jacob will never put any of you in compromising positions if he feels you can be spared. He doesn't want you to be like any of us. He doesn't want you to be pissed off all the time and miserable, he doesn't want you reliving memories every second of your life because of something he made you do."

Hailey stares at him, dumbfounded that she's getting yet another lecture. That seems to be the new trend with her nowadays. Of course, she'd come to grips with the fact that she may not know everything and that the lectures they're giving may, in fact, be somewhat informative. She feels her chest tighten thinking of her uncles, her friends, her father; all fitting this new description of what pack members consist of. They'll never say out loud that they're upset or 'miserable', but now she's certain that they are more often than not. It's a sad concept, one that she's not sure she can understand without further detail. But she's learned from experience that asking any of them about _why_ they are that way, or _what_ they're actually thinking of, is never grounds for a good conversation.

"I understand, but what does that have to do with me hanging out with you?" She lifts her gaze slightly, able to see the clear discomfort in his eyes.

Another thing she'd learned. If you're looking for something from one of them; don't look to their face, go strait for the eyes. Their faces or body language is a waste of time.

"Everything," he says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "I don't even know what we're talking about here," he says honestly.

Hailey smiles, on the verge of laughing at how exasperated he sounds. She lifts her hand and brushes his, intentionally pushing the boundaries she knew were firmly in place with him. He was so odd. The slightest shift from her seemed to make him nervous. It was funny in ways, intriguing in others, and when his eyes shot up she knew she'd struck a nerve.

"We're talking about why I like hanging out with you, about why I like you."

Keegan rolls his eyes dramatically and tilts his head back, looking up to the sky and huffing. He feels her move closer, her fingers slowly making their way into his palms. He can see her smirking, from the corner of his eye, and he's never in his life wanted to smack a female until that moment. He knows what she's doing, and it's fucking mean. As if he knows what to do in a situation like this.

-Where the hell is Jacob?

"Hailey…," he warns, leveling his head with hers and unwillingly making eye contact. "Stop it."

She bites her bottom lip and scoots closer, her ass now on the edge of her seat, her legs now completely surrounded by his.

"Explain it to me," she says quietly. "Explain to me why you don't think I should like you."

"I'm just different," he breathes. "We're nothing alike."

"So?" Hailey shrugs her shoulders and maintains the surprising eye contact they've managed. "I didn't know that being friends, or liking someone, had anything to do with how different you are. I like you. I'm _telling_ you that I like you. So what's the big deal? I'm not afraid of you, I've already told you that once before. Twice, maybe."

She offered him a small grin, soon turning it into a small smile when she sees his eyebrow quirk. She can see the side of his mouth twitching, his eyes lightening the slightest bit.

"I, uh, I don't really know what I'm supposed to say," he admits with a sudden frown. "Can we talk about something else now?"

Her smile remains as she pulls his hands from each other and replaces them with her own, squeezing slightly. "Say whatever you want. You don't have to ask my permission to say something. If you think it, say it."

He scoffs. "Right, like that's what you do."

"Hey, I've been honest," she says seriously, "you asked and I told you the truth."

Keegan sighs and looks around for any sort of help. It seems now, on Jacob Black's back porch in the middle of the day on an unusually sunny morning, nobody has the decency to be around.

He looks back to her, then to their hands, seeing the gesture suddenly making it much more real than just feeling it had. Her fingernails were painted, lime green of all colors, making her hands look all the more fragile in his large, worn ones. He stared at them for a short moment, thinking of the last time he'd held a girls hand. Oh right, he hadn't. The only times he'd been with a girl, it was just because. He wanted it, they would give it, simple as that. There was no connection, no talking, no friendship or, '_I'll call you later_'. He watched as her thumbs softly traced over his knuckles, rising and falling with the large ridges they made. -Why in the world would she do that? What was the point? Was she purposely trying to bring on this odd knot he kept getting in his stomach? Did she enjoy watching him squirm?

-Where the _fuck_ is Jacob?

"I like you," he says suddenly, still staring at their hands, "but do you think that really matters?"

Her face scrunches in confusion. "What do you mean?"

He looks at her, then, his eyes a completely different color. That, in itself, was the difference. There was _a_ color. His eyes, like most of the others, were almost always black. Now, though, they were green. A bright, forest green, with darker green streaks tracing through them in various places. She couldn't help but stare.

"I didn't know your eyes were green," she blurted, taken aback by the sudden change.

He smiles, "yeah, uh, it comes and goes I guess. I don't really get many chances to look at them. Don't change the subject, Hailey. You know there's no way in hell Jacob, or anyone else, would ever let us hang out if they thought…"

He stops suddenly, a hard frown etching itself into his features. She can see pieces of his eyes slowly fading back to that familiar shade of darkness. He flicks his gaze back to their hands that are still twined together, and squeezes slowly, closing his eyes momentarily.

"If they thought what?"

"If they thought I saw you as anything but a friend," he lets her hands go and sits up, stretching, "they'd never let me see you again."

Hailey can almost feel her face fall. She wasn't sure exactly what she had expected from the conversation, it was brought on out of the sheer need to aggravate him, but this isn't what she wanted to hear. He was right, she knew that, but it still didn't make it any easier to accept. Being denied; not one of Hailey's day-to-day responses. What was even more, he had actually caved a bit. As if that wasn't frustrating enough, he actually liked her. What that meant to him was still up for debate because he obviously had different ideas of how things worked, but according to him, more than a friend was something that had at least crossed his mind.

She felt it coming; that complex driving her after anything and everything that was dubbed untouchable or off limits, and she knew she should have stopped, but she couldn't. Call it teenage intuition, call it a very serious personal flaw. Whatever it was, she could feel it building up in her stomach and it had no intentions of going anywhere. She stared at him, unsure of how she was holding herself, and absolutely sure she didn't care. He continued to evade her gaze, looking to whatever was in the immediate area, anything to keep him from seeing the look on her face.

"You think that's fair?"

He looked at her when she said it, the confidence when she spoke taking him off guard. He had expected her to say alright, maybe stomp off or make him leave. Instead, she's sitting here, the same look about her, awaiting his answer.

"It doesn't matter if it's fair, that's just the way it is," he says firmly.

"Dad says there's a middle ground," she ponders aloud, thinking back to their conversation.

Keegan is suddenly assaulted with a thousand different memories, none of which he cared to see ever again. The first person that pops into his head is his mother, crying in the kitchen in front of the stove. He barely remembers her, and tries not to remember what _does_ still linger around in his mind. He decided a long time ago that not remembering at all is better than the cold, hard truth about what really happened. It seemed like another world altogether when he begins recalling his childhood. It seemed like a thousand years ago. He can barely even see her face anymore, he has almost completely lost her voice altogether. The words, 'middle ground', were a very sore subject amongst his pack, and he was beginning to understand why.

He can feel his body tensing, his fists clenching atop his knees. His body heats to an uncomfortable temperature as he recalls all of the speeches his father gave on this, 'middle ground', and how every speech led to nothing but misery. As his breath begins to quicken, he suddenly remembers where he is and reigns himself back in, peeking up at Hailey to be sure he hasn't frightened her. As usual, she notices, but doesn't respond. She just sits and watches him, a curious look gracing her face.

"There is for some I guess," he finally speaks, allowing his hands to fall back between his legs.

"Maybe there's one for us."

His face pulls into what she could only describe as a wrinkled mess, of the most adorable nature of course, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.

"Right, I can see that happening. 'Hey dad, would it be alright if I go on a date with a neighboring alpha's son? He promises he wont eat me.' Jacob would blow his shit," he shakes his head wryly, "and you'd be dumb to even bother."

Hailey smiles. "So you wanna take me on a date, huh?"

"Out of everything I just said, that's all you heard?"

"No, but it's good to hear," she half laughs, bringing a hand up to push back a few strands of his short hair. "I think that if I talked to him we could work something out."

Keegan shakes his head and closes his eyes, noticing her hand still lingering in his hair, the touch pushing him to a new level of discomfort. He feels her shift and snaps his eyes open, his body immediately on alert when he feels she's moving closer to him. He pulls his head up and raises a hand to her shoulder, trying to halt her movement. Before he can speak, she's in his face, her other hand over his mouth.

"Just shut up for a minute," she growls, now eye level with him and only inches from his face. "Just let me try something."

He groans into her hand and rolls his eyes, quickly learning that, 'just let me try something', coming from Hailey Black is never anything good. Without objecting or approving, he sits still, watching her as she slowly removes her hand.

She positions herself directly in front of him, nerves suddenly taking hold of her normal iron resolve as she carefully inches towards him. Having kissed her fair share of former, and present boyfriends, she finds herself quite surprised at how scared she suddenly is. She knows her father is upstairs, she can hear him, it's not really about getting caught. It's just him, it seems.

When her nose touches his, she can see his expression change completely. She feels his body move to greet her, his hands cautiously finding her hips and his face softly nudging into hers. She hadn't expected a reaction of any sort, but it seemed now, she was the one frozen. He closes his eyes, allowing his forehead and nose to continue brushing against her face as they both get more comfortable with the situation, neither feeling any ounce of apprehension. His hand slowly travels up to her face, pushing her hair behind her ear and cupping her cheek, forcing her eyes closed. His lips find their way over hers, his hot breath now flowing freely across her face.

"Hailey," he breathes, a hint of confusion lacing his voice.

"Just go with it," she says quickly, tracing her fingers into his hair, "it'll be fine, I promise."

Within seconds after she answers, he timidly presses his lips against hers, his whole body shivering as soon as they do. He can feel her grin, only egging him on further. She leans forward and deepens the contact, slipping her teeth between his lips and biting his bottom lip. As if something clicks, he smiles, and lifts her so that she's seated in his lap, never breaking their partial-sort-of-kind-of-kiss. The most perfect kiss he'd ever had.

He places both hands on the sides of her face, gently sliding his tongue across her bottom lip, quickly greeted with hers after he does. He savored the taste of her, sweet, almost foreign to him thinking of nothing that could compare. The movements are simple, and slow, each trying their best to get a good feel on the other. He breathed her in as best he could, memorizing her scent, her taste, every inch of every part of her that he was touching. After a few moments, he slows, pulling away only about a millimeter to allow the much needed oxygen to reintroduce itself to their lungs.

He shifts his eyes to meet hers, smiling when he sees the excitement pulsing from every inch of her. He shouldn't be smiling. He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be with her. -Jesus Christ, he shouldn't be with her.

"See," she breathes, "it's perfectly fine."

He tries not to smile, but fails miserably after she leans in and plants a short peck before getting up and brushing herself off, straitening out her t-shirt and shorts. Watching her, he still cant quite grasp why she'd want him in any sort of way. At the same time, he's sort of glad she does. -_Sort of_. Things like this were very short lived with people like him, and he figured at this point, his only option was to sit and wait patiently for it to blow up in his face. Until then, it seemed to be a, 'just enjoy it while you can', sort of thing. And, against his better judgment, he intended to.

* * *

"You're doing what now?" Leah asked groggily from her seated position on the bed, propped up on the pillows piled behind her.

"I'm lifting the borders," Jacob responded while pulling on a black shirt, "so that Jeremy and his pack can help us patrol without having to worry about crossing."

"So, they can be here whenever they want and vise versa?"

"Pretty much, yeah," he said, smiling.

"I thought you were pretty serious about those borders…. I mean you've seemed pretty adamant about keeping everyone out so far. What changed your mind?"

"I dunno," he shrugs, "I trust Jeremy I guess."

Leah stared at him, completely and utterly confused. A week ago he would have punched someone in the face for suggesting anything even _resembling_ something like lifting the borders. Now, he acts as if it's no big deal. -And what's this about _trusting Jeremy_?

"Um… I'm confused," she admits cautiously.

Jacob sighs and jumps onto the bed, quickly climbing so that he's lying beside her, kissing her shoulder as he settles in.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I think you were right," he says, snaking an arm around her waste.

"About what?"

"Pretty much everything," he admits calmly, "I even talked to Hailey."

Leah's eyes widen, her head snapping around to him. "How'd that go?"

"Actually, it went great. She was completely calm the whole time, never yelled or anything. She cried, but not because she was pissed, I don't think. I really think she got what I was trying to say."

"Well, where is she now?" Leah rolls to face him, slipping her hand up his shirt and resting it on his stomach.

"Downstairs with Keegan," he says, "I told her they could hang out while I dealt with Jeremy. He's staying here until they get back."

Leah narrowed her eyes and propped herself up on her elbow, an almost skeptic look about her. "Alright, what's wrong with you? You've been brainwashed, right? Someone swapped minds with you, didn't they? Did you get in a fight and break your brain? Tell me who did it, if you can remember that is, so I can thank them and invite them over for dinner."

Jacob laughs loudly, burying his head between her breast and the pillow. She slowly loses her resolve and bursts into laugher with him, both of their bodies shaking the entire bed. He finally lifts his head back up and rolls on top of her, peppering kisses all over her face and chest.

"Shut up, you want me to stop trying? Cause if that's what you want then I can surely arrange it, it's not that big of a-"

"No, no, no," she appeases, running her hands up his chest, "this is perfectly fine. I was just making sure nothing happened."

She stares at him for a moment, almost cherishing the smile he's wearing. She hasn't seen that smile in a while. It's almost refreshing, comforting even, seeing it on him again. He seems so calm right now, even with something intruding on their land, he's not his usual hard and distant self. -Thank God. But even so, she cant help but wonder how long it will last. She could only hope that it was going to be this easy, that he had really reached that point where he'd said enough. Jacob Black was more than capable of doing something if he set his mind to it, it was just getting him there.

-She'd find out eventually, she guessed.

"We're all going out," he says suddenly, "when we go try and track it. I want all of us to go."

Leah grins, her heart and mind both doing jumping jacks. "Sounds good to me. Just promise me you wont treat me any different. I know you say you never did…. But it's not a secret…. You babied me… _bad_."

Jacob laughed huskily, nodding through his body's jolted movements. "I promise that I'll _try_. Anything else and I'd be lying."

"Fine, I can accept that," she teases. "That's all I've ever asked you to do, is _try_."

Jacob caught the double meaning easily, unshaken by the underlying suggestion. He knew. More than anything, he knew that's all she's ever wanted. He was beyond sorry that he hadn't caught on before, but he knew there was no going back. It was all forward from here, and hopefully never backwards again.

He figured this small roadblock would be nothing compared to what Nashoba and Tyrone had caused, all they had to do was find the thing and get rid of it. He only hoped that his good luck continued on the way it was going. He only hoped that there would be no relapses within himself or his pack, both of which seemed to be climbing upwards in the best of ways. He only _hoped_, that with every revelation he'd come across over the past few days, that with everything he'd come to grips with and everything he knew he was up against; he only _hoped_ he was placing his trust in the right places. It wasn't given out lightly, or often, and thinking that the one time he did it was a mistake, was almost too much to even allow to cross his mind.

* * *

**a/n. HAHAHA! Two updates in the same week! Take that! =) So, be patient with my little informative chapters. There's a point to everything, so have no fear. Those of you asking about Brooke, she's still around, and will be back next chap along with everyone else. Hope you enjoyed and I'm reallyyyy hoping to get some feedback! Review for me peeps, you know I love it. =D And you all of course!**

**Kei, the answer to your unasked question is: YES, this is as close as that person will ever get to their sixth request sitting in my inbox. It was hard, and painful, but I made it. So yay for me. Lmao. Love you woman!**


	36. Awkward Alliances

**It All Started With a Promise**

**By: Cucumber07**

**Chapter 36- Awkward Alliances **

_A brother's job favors in that of a guardian itself. _

_He protects. _

_He loves._

_He listens._

_He understands. _

_With a younger sister, it seems, he is made into another person completely. _

The house seemed empty considering the high level of traffic it endured day to day. The couches were bare, the floor cleaned and empty. The counters were cleared, no bodies pressed or seated atop them. Talon listened from the kitchen table as his father called those who were uncharacteristically at their own homes, requesting their presence yet again. -This probably being one of the main reasons nobody ever bothered to leave.

He heard a voice outside, one that was oddly familiar, but still just out of his mind's ability to assign a face to. It was then he realized what his father had been going on about when telling him that he needed to work on developing his senses. The senses that every other wolf aside from himself, his sister, Alex and Danny had just about perfected. It was then he realized how far they'd actually come since he'd moved to La Push at the beginning of the summer. His hearing, his sense of smell, his eyesight; but above all, his instincts. Everything seemed to have heightened, things were much more clear to him now. He didn't have as much trouble keeping up with the others when on patrol or when they'd randomly ask him to find something without their help or take him to the middle of nowhere and force him to find his own way back.

He couldn't help but be a little proud of himself. He hadn't asked for help from anyone or whined about not being as good. His father had made several comments about how he'd almost forget that he was new to all of this; forcing Talon's stomach into thick knots of excitement.

As the voice continued on with the seemingly one sided conversation, Talon yet again contemplated going out there and checking on this visitor his mother and father had both failed to warn him about. It wasn't until he heard the other person's voice that he felt his fists clench and his heart begin to pound. He listened closer, closing his eyes to try and force everything else out. His mind began to sift through any and all people that _she_ would have over, none of the candidates less than five hundred miles away. He heard her laugh, the sound of her body shuffling across the boards and closer to the door. Then, to Talon's utmost surprise, she dropped a name.

-_Keegan?_

He stood immediately and shoved his chair underneath the table, suddenly overcome with frustration and the tiniest amount of confusion. Why in the world would Keegan be there? Why would Jacob _let_ him be there, on the porch, with Hailey of all people. Going along with Talon's respective characteristics, he didn't hesitate before throwing the back door open and waving for Hailey to come inside.

"What do you need, T?" Hailey asked, a little surprised by his unsubtly hostile entrance.

Talon paid no attention to his sister after seeing for himself that it was, in fact, Keegan at _their_ house. His curiosity as to why he was there, and what he was doing, suddenly pushed itself to the forefront of his mind and neither her words nor the clear uneasiness displayed on her face registered above it. She watched him as he tried to compose himself, Keegan's expression unchanging during the survey both were doing on each other.

"What're you doing here?" Talon asked without hesitation, his voice thick with what Hailey could only describe as disapproval.

"I'm waiting for Jeremy to get back, he and Jacob have something to talk to everyone about."

Keegan remained calm, nothing about him threatening or even wary. He somewhat understood Talon's concern. It had crossed his mind a few times over the past half hour he'd been there with her that eventually, her brother was going to find out where she was and who she was with. Hailey hadn't mentioned any sort of worry on the subject, but the apprehension on her face made it very clear that her brother's opinion meant more to her than she let on. Again, he could understand why. They were very close, it was clear to anyone around the two, and he doubted Talon would let anything like their current situation slip past him unnoticed. He was also mildly certain that he knew more than Hailey and even himself probably expected.

"Hailey come here for a minute," Talon shot before turning and reentering the kitchen, leaving the door ajar behind him.

"I'll be right back," she grinned half-heartedly before following what seemed like a trail of animosity through the door.

Upon entering, she gripped the doorknob behind her, slowly easing it closed until she heard the faint click from the frame, her body pressed against the slick wood. Talon was faced in the opposite direction and she could immediately tell that he was less than fond of her 'friend' being there. Why, she wasn't absolutely sure, but she had a pretty good guess lingering around in there somewhere. The fact that he knew her better than anyone and could read her like a book being at the top of the small list.

"Dad knows he's here, Talon. I'm not doing anything wrong," she almost whispered. "There's no need to get-"

"Shut up," he shook his head and turned to face her. "Have you lost your damn mind? Please don't stand there and act like this is just you making friends. This isn't high school."

Hailey watched as his face twitched with frustration, his chest almost heaving with every controlled breath he took. She shifted uncomfortably, his eyes blowing holes through any and all defenses she had managed to build during the short walk from her seat to the door. If there was one person she couldn't lie to, Talon took that position, and he held it well. Even if she tried, he wouldn't _let_ her.

"It's not…." she paused and looked up, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I really like him, T. It's not what you think though. He isn't like… he's not like the guys we know. He has no idea what any of this means. It's not like he's pushing me into it or constantly hitting on me. We really just talk, I promise."

Talon gaped at her, completely taken aback by her answer for all of this. "Are you fucking crazy? Of course he's not like the guys we know! He's lived like an animal for the duration of his 'adult' life. You cant lie to me, Hay. I know what you're doing."

"What am I doing?" Hailey asks almost defensively, folding her arms and squaring her shoulders.

He laughs. "Alright, tell me you're not pushing him."

She remains silent.

"Tell me that you're not looking for something more than 'just friends'."

Hailey shifts but still doesn't say anything.

"Tell me that the fact he's pretty much off limits to you, has nothing to do with your interest in him. Tell me that you have no plans to make him available to you. Tell me that you haven't kissed him. Tell me you haven't already thought up some brilliant plan to make him fall for you and somehow find a way to coax dad into agreeing to this 'relationship'."

Talon's stress on, 'relationship', sparked a slight offense underneath all the annoyance she was feeling towards him. He obviously didn't think much of Keegan, and she found herself wanting more to defend him at the moment, than herself. Although, defending herself would have probably been the safest route given his quickly dissolving temper and his well known lack of self control.

"Okay, so _maybe_ it was like that at first. I know that it's typically my style to do stuff just to get attention, but I'm telling you it's not like that with him. And yes, I do have a plan to make this work. I'm going to talk to dad."

Talon sighs and runs a hand down his face, "why cant you just let this go?"

"Why would I if it's something I really want?" Hailey's voice raises a few bars, her comprehension on why he's so upset slowly slipping away. "Why are you so against this? You don't even know him."

Before Talon can respond, Leah's footsteps switch from the stairs to the hardwood floor, the sleep still apparent in her eyes when she rounds the corner. Looking between the two, she automatically knows they've been arguing. It doesn't take much to see it when they do.

"What's the problem?" She asks, rubbing her eyes softly with the back of her hand.

"Talon is being a jerk," Hailey states simply, turning and opening the backdoor.

Leah can easily see through the crack, revealing Keegan and Embry chatting on the porch, both seated on the railing near the stairs. Seeing him gives her all the answer she needs and she motions for Hailey to go on out.

"Talon, it's not that big of a deal."

Talon's eyes flick to his mother for a moment before he turns and snatches the refrigerator door open, scanning over the contents before slamming it shut.

"It really is," he says quietly, the open door making him a little more cautious about what he says. "I don't like it, mom. I don't want her hanging around him."

Leah smiles shortly, finding his very unsubtle overprotective ways more than amusing. He's always like this when she gets a new boyfriend, but he's never been so up front about it with Hailey. She understands in ways. Keegan is a completely different story when it comes to a relationship. He's nothing like the pretty boys Hailey bossed around back in Bay City, he's really not even like the men she's around every day. He was raised differently, that much was obvious. But he didn't seem like someone who would ever hurt Hailey. -Not intentionally anyway.

"Talon, I doubt your father would let her see him if he thought that he posed any sort of threat. They haven't done anything wrong, sweetie. Just let them be for now," Leah waves her hand at him and moves to the pantry, taking out a box of pancake mix.

"She's too good for him," he almost pouts, plopping down into one of the chairs.

"Okay well let her figure that out for herself. It's not your call, T."

"Right. Like I want to have to worry about my sister sleeping with some mongrel, then realizing it was a mistake. That'll make for good conversation when the time comes," he bites sarcastically, leaning back in his seat.

Leah shakes her head and continues mixing, unwilling to engage in the argument that has no end. If it were up to Talon, Hailey would be a nun. There would be no male contact whatsoever and no touching of any kind from male or female alike. It was a pointless debate when his point of view was directly one sided.

"And you guys are retarded if you think that they're, 'just friends'. I guarantee you that if you let this go on, he'll be her 'boyfriend' before the end of the week. You know what happens after that? 'Can I go off with him?', 'can we go to the movies?', 'can we go to a bon fire?'… then you know what happens after that? Kissing. Lots and lots of kissing. Then you know what happens after that? Touching… lots and lots of touching. You _don't_ want to know what happens after that."

Talon's little rant sends him reeling into a state of unconscious anger, his little tantrum only causing Leah to giggle while pouring the first bit of mix into the frying pan. He looks up and sees her smiling, annoyed with everyone's nonchalance on the subject.

"Is that what you and Alex do?" Leah pushes out through her still present giggles, hating that they were having the conversation but wanting him to ease up on his sister all the same.

Talon drew his head back, his face twisting with disgust. "Don't ask me that!"

"Well, you seem to be able to pry into her business, why not let us pry into yours?"

"It's not the same."

Leah feels that familiar sting of frustration on the subject rise thinking of how many times Seth said that same exact thing to her. He was younger than her, but once they phased, you would have never known. He acted as if he were the older brother, and he made damn sure that nobody touched his sister unless he approved. -Which was never.

"It's exactly the same. If you were sleeping with Alex, it would be no different then her sleeping with Keegan," Leah stated calmly, turning to hide the silent gag that erupted thinking of either.

Talon's eyes widened considerably, completely uncomfortable and beyond surprised with what she just said. "Are you telling me… that you're okay with the thought of her sleeping with… _him_?"

Leah sighed and rested the spatula on the counter before turning to him. "I'm not okay with either of you sleeping with anyone. But if it's alright for you to do it, you shouldn't be so hard on her. Neither one of you should be doing anything like that, but I know that you have for sure. So you're telling me that it's fair for you to whatever you want because you're a guy, but she has to stay a virgin until you decide it's okay…. Which will most likely be never?"

Talon rolled his eyes and let the front legs of his chair fall back to the ground, turning to face the window rather than his mother's calm but intimidating gaze. He hated being wrong, and with something like this, he would never be alright with it. It was just a matter of how he handled it, he guessed.

"I'm going to run my patrols," he said shortly, standing and pushing his chair under.

He hugged Leah's head for a short moment before waltzing out the back door, giving neither Keegan nor Hailey the slightest of glances. He wanted to turn around, yank him off the banister and drag him out with him; but he knew that would be frowned upon by everyone else. Apparently they were trying to, 'keep the peace'. Jeremy's pack was one of the few alliances Jacob had left, he wanted to keep them as long as he could. Unfortunately, that meant Talon having to work with not only Jeremy, who creeped him out more than anything else, and now Keegan; the guy who was trying to get with his sister. -That should be nice and cozy.

* * *

"So, we're all going to be patrolling circuits… _together_?" Sam asked skeptically from across the living room where he was posted against the wall, the house piled to the brim with pack members from both sides.

"As far as we're concerned, this thing is a threat to everyone, and we think crossing borders will give us better access to places we miss under normal circumstances. Without limits there's no need to stress over watching each step or running into an unwanted member from the other side," Jeremy said calmly from Jacob's side.

Jacob surveyed the room, gauging the mixed reactions flowing throughout the many inhabitants. Looking over the group, he couldn't find any that seemed to absolutely object, other than Talon who wore a less than enthusiastic expression. Leah had already filled him in, so his beef with Keegan was of no interest to him. That, he'd leave between the boys for now.

"Are pairs going to stay the same?" Paul spoke up from the couch, raking his eyes over the large group.

"No, I'll get to that in a few minutes," Jacob said.

"So, how do you want us to do this? Start tonight and just go from there or are all of us going to try and track it?"

Sam pushed himself from the wall as he spoke, moving so that he was in the middle of the room, clearly speaking only to Jacob. Paul and Embry followed but turned their attention to the kitchen where Sue and Billy were seated with the imprints. It was pretty clear to anyone around them that they were the slightest bit uncomfortable, surrounded by a bunch of strangers who, to someone like Emily or Kim, probably seemed more than intimidating. They were all dirty, all huge and none wore any sort of expression offering comfort of any specific magnitude. -Not that it came as a surprise.

"I want a few pairs, preferably those who have a better idea of what to look for, out patrolling for the night. We'll take whatever we find tonight and all leave about mid day tomorrow," Jacob explained.

"So, we're _all_ going tomorrow?" Brady, surprisingly, asked.

Jacob nods and runs a hand through his hair, "yeah, all of us. The larger the number, the better. And for those of you who aren't familiar with how this works; once we leave, we don't come back until it's found and taken care of. Whether it takes four days or four weeks, we stay out until we're sure that it's gone. We split into groups, still paired in twos, each group taking a different angle of the scent or trail we've found. When we start getting closer, the right side goes around to come from the north. We split the rest so that we have groups coming from each side. Nobody goes after or engages until I say so. Once I give the go ahead, instructions are simple and will be explained as we're approaching after I get an idea of what we're dealing with. Everyone got it?"

Everyone nodded slowly, some already knowing the drill, some trying to soak in everything he said without having to ask. Jacob noticed Leah and Rachel standing close to the back, both wearing an overly bored expression. Catching her eye, Jacob grinned and tossed her an almost overdramatic wink, forcing a smile to both the women's faces. He was almost lost for a second, watching her shift her weight consciously under his gaze, the large group partially forgotten as she and Rachel shook their heads at his sudden lightheartedness.

"So what about pairs?" Sam asks loudly, noticing Jacob's distracted focus. "You said they weren't the same…"

Jacob pulled his attention back to Sam and nodded, taking a quick moment to regain his train of thought.

"Right, here's how this is going to work; some of you will most likely be uncomfortable with the arrangements I'm about to hand out, but this is just how it's gonna be until we get rid of whatever this is. I'm breaking everyone into threes. These groups will consist of; Myself, Leah and Embry. Sam, Alex and Danny. Jeremy, Brady and Isaac. Keegan, Talon and Hailey. Paul, Colin and Matt. John, Quil and Adam."

Jacob paused and took another breath, "as for the rest of you, mostly our pups and the remaining members of Jeremy's pack, you will all pair up amongst yourselves. The groups named were to get all that are really new to this paired up with the more experienced throughout both packs. We want one older member for every two younger ones. The way you pair off is completely up to you, take it outside and figure it out."

With that, the remaining unpaired members slowly rose and made their way through the still fairly large crowd and out the back door, leaving a bit more breathing room for those who remained. Also giving Jacob a clear view of the shock and, for some, frustration with their new partners.

"I think since we have everything taken care of as far as information, I'm going to head on out and try to find a starting point," Jeremy said. "Send whoever you wish out when they're all ready, I'll be waiting."

Jacob nodded and watched Jeremy exit, catching the hitch in his movements when he passed Leah and the friendly smiles both dished out with ease. Not that it bothered him. He was glad they were getting along. He was glad everyone was getting along. -Well… most everyone, anyway.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Talon spoke up fearlessly, his eyes narrowed and noticeably fixed on the other young wolf across the room.

Jacob grinned, unaffected. "This is the best way, I'm pretty certain of that."

Talon nodded wryly, "wonderful."

After answering a few questions lingering throughout the younger members, and those who had never done something like this before, Jacob dismissed the rest of the group and sent his choice few to meet up with Jeremy. He spotted Leah standing by the door chatting quietly with Rachel who seemed to still be attached at her hip. Still, even with his sister there, he eased up behind her and buried his face in her neck, gripping her hips tightly.

"C'mon Jake, save it until I'm not around, huh?" Rachel groaned, shoving his shoulder unsuccessfully.

"You're always around," he countered, never looking up from the small kisses he was planting down her neck and across her shoulder.

Leah shuttered slightly, paying no mind to any of the words escaping either of them, her focus directed only on his hands that were slowly sliding up her shirt. Rachel scoffed and slapped his arm, apparently refusing to budge from her spot beside her newly reclaimed best friend.

"You could at least have the decency to take it upstairs," she half laughed. Her giggles were quickly halted when he threw her a very short, "okay", and proceeded to throw Leah over his shoulder and turn for the stairs.

"I thought you guys had to leave?" She yelled after them.

"We do," he grumbled, "in a few hours."

She could still hear Leah's faint giggles and squeals after the door slammed shut, a loud thud following another loud burst of laughter. Rachel only shook her head and smiled, unable to deny that she was happy for both of them. They deserved it. They deserved each other. And neither had seemed happier than they were at the moment in a very long time, both seeming completely content with the way things were. After taking another peek outside, however, Talon looked to be a very different story. Even Rachel, oblivious to most things outside of her own small bubble, could see the tension between her nephew and his new 'partner'. Both were seated on the railing of the back porch, opposite sides of course, talking to Hailey in the middle. Although, it seemed that neither were really paying her any attention seeing as both of their suddenly annoyed gazes were fixed on each other.

She sighed and shook her head thinking of the blatant case of, 'overprotective brother' syndrome that was currently plaguing him. Jacob had been that way once, a very long time ago. Before Paul imprinted on her, before Rebecca moved away. It was cute for a very short second, then became insanely annoying when it began interfering with her relationships. She briefly glanced at Embry as he approached, posting himself on the door frame and following her gaze.

"This is going to be a long week," he sighed, thinking over what they were both seeing. "I can only imagine what's going to happen when they're in each other's heads."

Rachel chuckled lightly, "I didn't even think about that."

"Jacob did," he drawled. "Which is the exact reason he put them together. Talon's got some shit to learn, and he will most defiantly learn it from Keegan."

"Isn't that a little dangerous though? Putting him with someone he doesn't like while going out hunting who knows what?" Rachel's face crinkled, thinking of the possible issues it would cause.

"It's something he's gonna have to deal with," Embry said, grinning. "We all had to learn at some point to work with whoever could help us, no matter what the circumstances. He cant let something like that affect him to the point that he'd put someone else in danger. Which he wont, Talon's too smart for that, but it'll teach him a lesson in the process."

Rachel rolled her eyes and turned to the kitchen counter, picking up her keys. "Whatever you guys say. I'll never understand all of this bullshit."

They both laughed before exiting the house, finding themselves choking on the awkward cloud covering the back porch.

"It will be pretty interesting though," she whispered as they passed the three teens, both chuckling quietly as they bounded down the steps.

"That it will be."

* * *

**a/n. Right, so if it seems kinda rushed, I'm sorry. I finished this at… what is now reading as…. 3:02 in the AM. I'm tired as hell. I wanted to get this out though before it drove me crazy sitting in MS Word. Every time I saw it I opened it and changed something. T-T **

**Anyway, like I said, all this has a point, so hang in there. Next chapter will be a tad bit more interesting… *chuckles darkly*… muah ha ha ha ha ha! Ahem… sorry. Leave me some reviews people, I love them…. So so much… almost to the point where I think I have a problem. *covers eyes* I'm so ashamed….**

**NOT! **

**^-^ To all of you that read and/or review, I love you, and thank you so much for following. This one will be closing up soon, not too soon, still a few more chappies and a whole lotta drama to go through… but soon. Again, love you all, thanks for reading. **

**To my WILF ladies… help me… my smut muse is fading… I'm in need of assistance for my next HA chapter… fml… T-T **

**Love you girls. =)**


	37. Past Reincarnate

**a/n. Okay I was a little torn on how I wanted to do this chap. Since they will all be in the same place at the same time, only spread out, I had to think of how I wanted to go from person to person without breaking every time. Just to avoid confusion; the second part of this chapter will be a compilation of everyone. Keegan, Hailey, Talon, Leah, Jacob… maybe Sam, Paul or Embry. Possibly Alex. Either way, they're all going to the same place. I didn't want anyone to be confused. **

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* * *

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**It All Started With a Promise**

**By: Cucumber07.**

**Chapter 37- Past Reincarnate.**

_The past absconds with our fortunes, just as we were rounding a major bend in the swollen river; not to see ahead, becomes the only predicament when what might be sunken there is mentioned only in crabbed allusions but will be back tomorrow. _

_-John Ashbery_

There's a certain feeling that he's become familiar with during his time as Alpha. A feeling that, despite how prepared or ready he or his pack, or anyone for that matter, feel they are for something; always stays true to the same end. -Disaster.

He's found himself at a crossroad, standing between two things that he holds so dear to his heart; two things that are so true to his soul, two things that have molded and meshed so perfectly with his being. The day wont bring death, no, he wouldn't let that happen. But what he fears the most, is what he is now staring dead in the eye. This man, this _partner_, this friend; a man he's saved from his own misguided and sometimes rash instincts, a man he's put his full trust in. Jacob isn't a conflicted being, not most of the time. More often than not, when he's made a decision, the decision remains made. But here, standing with his family and pack, surrounded by those he's assigned this said trust to; he is surely conflicted.

There is an eerie feeling in the air, one that no matter the wind nor weather, can he rid himself of. It remains unshaken, clinging to his doubts and uncertainties. Why it's come back after so long he's uncertain, but this feeling doesn't come alone. No, it brings reinforcements. Armed forces that are far more deadly than any living or breathing being. They surround him and slowly penetrate all of his defenses, gradually wearing down his iron resolve. It isn't about the days agenda, no, he can easily monitor everyone from such a standpoint. Can he really be so estranged from who he once was, that the idea of trusting someone 'outside' could so harshly effect everything about him? Is this one decision truly eating away at him purely because he's never done it before? Does he fear that his first instincts were correct, all the while having known this man for so many years?

They say that ones eyes are the gateway to their soul, that one look from someone with such desire for sincerity, and all of your anxieties should be quelled. Jacob doesn't believe such sayings. There isn't much that remains in this world that can provoke nor surprise him, yet this feeling remains. The frown he'd been void of in past weeks has returned, along with those distant but vivid memories. He cant help but ask himself; why now?

"Are you okay?" Leah asks him while taking his hand, an honesty he cannot deny working to break him down. "You seem a little distant.."

He can see the uncertainty burrowed behind her eyes, seemingly blanketed by what fools everyone else. This invisible force field stands so strong against all others, shielding what she wishes to remain unseen; but his vision is quite amazing, it seems.

"I don't know," he answers honestly, returning his gaze to the group of men. "I have this feeling.."

Leah's brows furrow, her mind subconsciously saying a brief prayer as he thinks of his next words. She can see the familiar sting of absentness gracing his features, this familiar but foreign way about him that he's been fighting so hard against has returned so quickly, that she hadn't noticed until now. It pains her, seeing him struggle. She knows it's hard. What this, 'it', truly is still remains unspoken but she knows that whatever 'it' may be, has worn him down to this over the years. Uncaring and unsympathetically broken him down to this shell. If it were alive, she'd surely kill it, ridding him of it forever. If only it were so easy.

"I used to…," he stops, taking in a deep breath before averting his gaze so far away that she's unsure if his eyes are still open. "… I used to have this feeling.. It was with me all the time. Like, a disease that never went away. Something I just couldn't shake no matter how hard I tried."

She watches him, too unsure to add her thoughts just yet, words almost visible to her on the tip of his tongue. He seems as if he's choking, as if this is something that's truly painful for him to speak of. Why, she remains uncertain.

"It would always get stronger when something like this was going on. Like there was something I was forgetting, something that I was supposed to have done, but never did. Decisions were always harder because of it. Because I felt as if I couldn't trust my own judgment, there was always this cloud hovering over… telling me that I was wrong. But even when I changed directions, it stayed. Almost like there was no right decision. Like there was no way out."

Leah sits, stunned. On one hand, he's talking to her, a huge step from before. On the _other_ hand, however, she's completely lost to a response. She runs over his words in her head, oblivious in ways, to how it truly feels. He was right in that aspect; she'd never fully understand, because she has never endured the same things. Their 'journeys', so to speak, were opposite in so many ways. Some of which she feels are so distant from one another, they may never quite be in reach to either of them. Still, she knows that he's trying; so she has to.

"You still have it?" She asks for reassurance, his answers a bit jumbled when it comes to a direct subject. "You said that you used to… is it the same feeling you're having now?

He nods slowly, his free hand fiddling absentmindedly with the torn hems of his shorts. "It was gone for a little while…..these past few weeks.. It was like I'd had this boulder planted on my chest for so long," he shakes his head absently, "and as quickly as it was removed, it was back. It _is_ back. I keep… I keep thinking of when we were gone because of how we work when we're doing something like this. All of the formations and pairings and mentalities you have to go through to do this right; it's all just so similar….but so different."

"Are you afraid?" She dares to ask, searching his face for a reaction as soon as the words escape her.

He remains indifferent, it seems, a slight grimace forming as he parts his lips to speak. "I'm not afraid of what we're after, if that's what you mean. I'm not afraid of what it is or how much damage it's caused….honestly… I'm not really even afraid of dying." He surprises her with eye contact, turning his head so that he can watch her face. "It's you that scares me."

Leah's face crinkles with absolute confusion, "why?"

"Okay, let me rephrase," he appeases, raising his free hand to gesture a silent apology. "I'm afraid for those of you who aren't familiar with this. And don't get me wrong, it's not because I find any of you weaker or less capable… I think that we all lost something when we left, something deep down that none of us can get back. I think the one thing that irritates me and, I guess for lack of better words, makes me so angry… is the thought of anyone else ending up like us… like _me_."

She shakes her head before he's even finished, following him until the last word is spoken and feeling the instant need to defend him. It's not because she loves him, or even that she _knows _him; it's the simple fact that he's wrong.

"You think that just because you fell into this… _hole_… that everyone else that joins will too. This is nothing like back then. I wasn't even there and I know that much to be true. You cant keep comparing everything to that. You cant keep using it as an excuse. You're afraid because you know that here, in our world, there's killing and fighting and every other horrible transgression that other people and _parents_ try to keep their families away from. We know this. All of us do. It's a matter of acceptance. You don't want to accept that this is our life, because this life has made you miserable. I get it. But you cant let that dictate your day to day. Talon, Hailey, Danny, Alex… _me_… we get it. You don't have to worry about us. This is what we _want._"

He watches her as she animatedly explains her position and how she sees _this_. In all honesty, it surprises him. He knows she's right on most counts, but hearing this explanation still doesn't quell the same lingering fog that's plagued him for so long. It frustrates him, this sense of unknown, and he isn't sure where to place said frustration. There was no one to blame, no one to place all of this animosity on. It was a burning fire, slowly building, awaiting it's target.

Her hand snaps him back from his thoughts, her fingers tracing soft lines down his slowly easing face. He can feel everything slowly leaving him as she trails them to his hair, scooting closer and massaging his scalp. He'll never understand why she sticks around, seeing and knowing what she does. But he'll be forever thankful.

"Thank you," he almost whispers, pulling her into his lap.

"I would ask for what, but I think I know," she teases, grinning goofily.

Jacob smiles a rare but true smile and cups her face, bringing it down only inches from his own. "I love you…._so_… much," he stresses, kissing the corner of her mouth softly. "I want you- I want _this_ forever. I want you to know that I'd do anything to make you happy…I love you with every piece of me… I don't want you to be iffy or unsure of that… ever. I know that I suck sometimes.. a lot of the time… but it doesn't mean that it's not still there. It never left. I'm so sorry… for everything. I kick myself all the time for how things happened and played out, and I want you to know that it'll never be like that again. I'll never lie to you, I'll never push you away; I'll do whatever I need to do to show you that you're all I want, and all I'll ever need."

Leah gawks at him, eyes widened with surprise. He sounds so desperate, like he's trying to prove something. Whether it's him convincing himself, or him convincing her; she isn't one hundred percent certain. It could be both, she guesses. Looking down into his deliciously brown eyes, she cant honestly say that she can deny him. Even if he were to relapse and return to his 'other self', as if he were schizophrenic or something, she was unnervingly sure that she'd stay with him. It goes against everything she's prided herself on over the years, but she knows that he's the only person she's truly meant for, even if that means watching him self destruct bit by bit.

These are all facts she finds unnecessary to dwell on now. He's trying, he's succeeding, and now she gets to listen to him _tell_ her how much she means to him. It's like a breath of fresh air hearing it. Like nobody has ever said it before. Even though they had, him being the first of the few, and the only one that had any sort of weight with her.

"I know you do," she breathes. "I love you too… and I'm not going anywhere."

"You two make me nauseas," Embry grumbles as he takes a seat beside Leah on the bench.

"I think they're cute," Colin thinks aloud, grinning at Embry's less than enthusiastic response.

"Yeah, I'm glad they're back together," Brady concludes, sitting on the ground beside Colin and Seth.

Leah chuckles softly at the men's silly exchange, nudging Embry with her elbow as he continues to scowl. "C'mon Em, it's not that bad."

"Says you," he snorts. "I have to share a direct link with you guys."

"A direct link?" She questions.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," Jacob blurts dumbly. "When we're paired, until we want to, we don't have to listen to everyone else. We can share a group link, so to speak, or direct. We like to do direct until we need to talk to everyone. It's less confusing."

Leah nods shortly but frowns, very displeased with her lack of knowledge pertaining to what was once her entire life. Seventeen years ago, she would have known all this. She would ask no questions and there would be no, 'duh', looks pointed at her right now. They would expect her to be able to hold her own and take care of herself, even though everyone knew Jacob would be watching her indirectly with so much force that, even now, would shake any enemy. She offers him a smile when he continues to watch her, a slight quirk of his eyebrow letting her know that he can see all of which is currently frustrating her. Of course he could, he sees everything, she thinks.

Although she's been out of the loop for quite sometime, she wont allow Embry's silent snickers or this sudden anxious feeling creeping up on her to hinder her performance. She will be there, with them, and she will do exactly what's expected of her. No amount of time away could take what is buried shallowly beneath the surface. She knows this, and so does everyone else.

* * *

The older, more experienced wolves keep telling him that it's alright to be nervous, that everyone has doubts their first time out. Talon only nods politely and thanks them for their support, unbothered to tell them that he isn't afraid in the least bit. Nothing about this intimidates him. Should it? Probably. But his calm remains solid, slowly creeping to his sister who is standing directly beside him. They wait, watching, as Jacob and Jeremy speak with the other two Alphas that are assisting them. Keegan is not far behind them, standing between Jacob and Jeremy's flanks, indifferent, it seems. Talon studies him secretly, now curious as to why Jacob would pair them with someone who is only a few years their senior. He's strong, that much is obvious, but was he really so experienced that Jacob would trust him with his two children?

Talon understood the differences between their packs easily, it was simple. They lived one way, Jeremy lived another. But was Jeremy really so uncaring that he would put his pre-teen son out in the ranks to be thrown to the wolves, vampires and any other creature they happened to stumble across? Talon couldn't be positive, but it was beginning to seem that way. It was the only way he'd have so much more than them, the only way he'd know so much. He sees Keegan nod shortly in Sam's direction who is giving indistinct hand signals to those bordering the small circle the Alphas have created, the young man then turning and jogging over to them with his face tucked away from the others watching. Were they supposed to be hiding something?

"We'll be leaving soon," he says quietly while approaching, his hands finding his pockets as he positions himself in front of them. "Is everything clear? No questions?"

"How far back will we be?" Talon returns the hushed tone, peeking around and noticing the eyes trying to follow his lips.

"We'll be directly behind Sam, who wont be far from Jacob. Jeremy will be on our right, Paul on our left. We're just shy of the middle."

Talon nods and flicks his eyes to Keegan who is eyeing those around him, a certain tension flowing from him, one not directed at him but seemingly to those around them.

"What's up with these guys?" Hailey whispers, her voice so soft that both Keegan and Talon have to strain their ears to hear her.

Keegan twists his body slightly, looking back to Jacob before returning his attention to her. "We didn't know they were coming. Jacob hadn't told anyone, neither did Jeremy… they just think it's weird that they knew… and that they came. Ronnie and Garrett could have been expected, it's been on their land too, but not Adam's pack… we haven't seen them in almost five years…"

"Why are they staring at us?" Talon almost bites, annoyed with the indiscretion passing through the crowd.

Keegan visibly grimaces, his gaze leaving Hailey and settling back on Talon. "Why do you think?"

Leah calmly strides over to the three, holes burning through her with every pair of eyes that have been settled on her since the arrival of this strange pack. She wouldn't mind, normally, if it were a pack they seemed familiar with; but the look she received from Jacob and Sam both when they arrived unsettles her. She can see it pulsing through the surrounding strangers every time she moves, every time Hailey moves, every time Alex moves. If they were trying to be discreet about their interests, they were failing, miserably.

"You guys ready?" She asks shortly.

"Yeah…" Keegan drawls, suddenly turning back around to face the larger group. "C'mon, we're going."

Talon winks at his mother before following Keegan, both of them halting momentarily to wait for Hailey.

"I'll see you in a little while," Leah offers her, patting her shoulder before moving to where she sees Embry standing.

Hailey nods and jogs to catch up with them, an uneasy feeling about being in this large crowd settling in the pit of her stomach. She walks between the two boys and they follow Jacob into the woods, the entire bunch moving along with them. She couldn't believe how many there were. It was like being at a concert or rally. Only difference was, they were all like Jacob had been telling her they would be. Emotionless, distant, careless. It was a little overwhelming.

"I know you don't want to listen to me," Keegan comments to Talon. "I get it, trust me. But we're stuck together and there's nothing we can do about it. So just… do me a favor and try to follow my directions out here. I don't care if you don't like me, but we're not the only ones out here. Can I trust you?"

Talon found it quite ironic that _Keegan_ was asking if he could trust _him_. It seemed as if it should have been the other way around at this point. But, still, he understood what he meant. And as much as he would have loved to toss an insult his way, he only let out an elongated breath before answering.

"Yeah. We're good."

Leah watched Talon and Hailey follow Keegan into the crowd before turning and following Embry, he was visibly annoyed with her need to place her kids, but she didn't care. It was kind of a big deal… to her anyway.

"Can we refrain from any gushy thoughts today? I don't want you distracting the Alpha. We kind of need him," Embry threw at her over his shoulder, stepping carefully over scattered rocks and branches.

Leah's eyes narrowed as she closed in on him, shoving his shoulder roughly as he continued walking. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? I'm pretty sure Jacob is perfectly capable of keeping his mind in check."

Embry scoffs, "right, tell that to those of us who shared a head with him for four years. The first one was the absolute worst. I swore if I'd have seen your face one more time my head would have exploded."

Leah watches him as he kicks and stomps all that's in his way, his entire body littered with tension. Why he was directing it towards her was unknown, but she could tell something was bothering him.

"Are you alright?" She enquires, pulling his arm so that he is facing her. "You seem upset."

Embry sighs and runs a hand down his face, his eyes flicking upwards and resting there. "I just… I'll tell you when we get home.."

Although she would have loved to beat it out of him, she heard Jacob signal for them to meet him, his steady voice rebounding through the forest and carrying for what seemed to be miles. She nodded to Embry and rubbed his arm, attempting to offer some sort of comfort from whatever had him so twisted. He picked one hell of a time to get his shit all mixed up.

As they approached Jacob, Leah could clearly see Talon and Hailey posted on a nearby tree awaiting their instructions, Sam visibly watching them closely. They may have lost touch of their 'relationship', but she knew she could trust him with something like that. The fact that she hadn't asked, yet he was still keeping an eye out, said a lot. Although, she figured it could be more for Jacob's sake rather than hers. -Okay that was _probably_ the case.

"You guys ready?" Jacob asks, his body language, face, and even voice completely different.

She could see, in that moment, why everyone not only feared him, but respected him. He was quite intimidating when in this mindset, it seemed. "Ready when you are almighty one," Embry chimed almost sarcastically, surprisingly earning quite the glare from Jacob.

"Can we keep it to a minimum? I don't really want to hear that shit when I've got so many to worry about, keep your head in the game," Jacob bit harshly, forcing Leah's head back in surprise.

"Jake, he-"

"Don't, Leah," Embry breathed, shaking his head. "He's right, I'm sorry."

Leah was, again, completely lost as to what was going on between the two men. Their shady ways of communicating without ever saying a word leaving her completely clueless. She took his advice though, and silently followed the two men to a clear spot where they stripped and all three phased.

She could literally feel every single wolf phase in after her; from all four packs. It was an odd sensation and the mass of thoughts pouring into her head immediately brought the blood rushing to her temples where pressure quickly began to build.

"_This is why we use direct link,_" Jacob said softly, showing her how to do it without another word.

Leah, along with Talon and Hailey who were taking the same direction from Keegan, easily pushed everyone else out of their minds and soon she was at peace with her two partners, neither of which were displaying any sort of thought or emotion.

"_Jeremy found a trail that led to what we think is where it's been staying, follow closely, stay between me and Embry. When we get there, don't move until I say so. Understand?_"

Leah was relieved to find that Jacob's harsh tone didn't carry over into their, 'direct link', and nodded animatedly while trotting between them and following to where all the others were gathered. Within a few minutes Jacob threw his head to the side and motioned for she and Embry to follow, all breaking into sprints, everyone following suit behind them. She watched as all the other pairs split into their assigned positions, everything seeming so calculated and perfect. She flicked her gaze and noticed that she could, to her relief, see her kids that were falling in line naturally behind Keegan. She grinned internally, glad that both were taking so fondly to the way things were done. Not that she'd thought either would have a problem, she just knew it was a large change. Neither had been too great with authority until now.

She pushed herself harder, realizing that Jacob and Embry were inching ahead of her, both of their muscles flexed and visible even under their fur. They were larger than she remembered, even after seeing them not so long ago in the same sort of predicament. Maybe it was how close they were, or how small she seemed to be standing beside them. -_Maybe I need to start working out?_

Still, she kept up with them easily and gracefully weaved her way through the forest, swiftly picking up the scent that had eluded them all for the past weeks. A scent that could have easily been misconstrued into being another wolf or even a human. What exactly were they dealing with?

**

* * *

**

"_Jesus, how much further?" _Hailey complained, her legs beginning to cramp from the elongated journey.

Both she and her brother could hear the quiet snicker leave Keegan's wolf form, his teeth almost bared as he hopped over a fallen tree. "_Can you smell it?"_

Talon flicked his head forward, "_yeah, what the hell is that?"_

"_I cant smell anything!" _Hailey butted back in, annoyed that she was the only one that couldn't.

"_You haven't really been paying attention either," _Keegan replied seriously, noting that her thoughts were far away from here. "_You need to focus, Hailey."_

Talon fights the urge to taunt her, remembering where they were and what exactly they were supposed to be doing. Although, taunting her may have been the easiest way to get what they wanted from her. Talking sense never quite did the trick.

He finds himself wondering where they went as their connection falls silent, neither his sister nor their current influence seem willing to share their thoughts. Their influence much better at hiding what's going through his mind than his sister. He groans loudly when her mind wanders to something her father mentioned, something about a middle ground. Surprisingly enough, Keegan shared the same loud protest at exactly the same time. It was then, it seemed, Talon could really understand what was going on. In fact, in a matter of moments, he got a detailed play by play of _everything_ that's happened between them. What was even more; he didn't say a word. Instead, he allowed the communication they were upholding without words and even tried his best to divert his attention elsewhere. It felt like a mistake, allowing them this privacy, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel neutral with Keegan. So far, he'd been professional, so to speak. In certain ways, he sort of wanted to be around him more.

He was someone close to his age that seemed to know a lot about all this, someone who had been there- don't that. He wouldn't have to feel like a kid running to his dad or uncles anytime he had a problem. Hell, moving to La Push, he'd lost all his friends. More so, none of them would have understood any of this.

Keegan's mind suddenly shifts, breaking through to Jacob's link, his thoughts now following their alpha as he shows them where he is. Large tracks fill a clear path, more than one set, it appears. Both Jacob's pair and their own can hear the distinct curses floating through Jacob's thoughts as he assess how many they're looking at.

"_At least three," _Jacob mumbles, his pace never slowing as he flies by dismembered trees and crushed debris this being has left behind it.

"_How can you tell?" _Leah asked incredulously, her pace keeping her from even really knowing where they are.

All of them are moving at unbelievable speeds, the larger wolves taking her by surprise with their agility given their bulked sizes.

"_The tracks, they're broken," Embry explains. "You can see the different sets if you look close enough. It moves on four legs_."

Leah drops her gaze to the ground just before she and Embry feel Jacob halt abruptly, his giant form skidding to a stop and slinging dirt from under his paws into the nearby brush. His ears perk, his nostrils flaring as his body follows whatever it is he's found. Embry's hair prickles, everything standing on end as he watches Jacob inch forward, his direction changing with this new found clue. Leah suddenly worries about everyone else knowing their stopped, but looks back to find everyone halted, patrolling their confined areas for whatever it is that's caught Jacob's attention. She sees Jeremy leap forward and follow him, both of their bodies tense with anticipation. He trails behind Jacob as they both stick their noses to the ground, the entire forest seeming so eerily quiet. Nothing is moving, she notices; no wind, no animals; no indication that anything else is nearby. No indication that anything has ever been here.

"_It's big,_" Jacob ponders aloud, following a single set of tracks that strayed from the path. "_It's really big…_"

"_It smells like ass_," Paul added, staying close to where he sees Jacob wandering. "_We still have no idea what we're dealing with?_"

Jacob shakes his snout, blowing out a large gush of air. "_It's something we've seen before. I recognize the tracks… I actually.. I think that this is what Sam and I dealt with just before our last few weeks with the Volturri. If so, a group of them is far from a good thing. I have no idea what they are, so don't ask.. -Colin.. I would describe it to you.. But you'd really just have to see for yourself._"

Embry sniggers at Colin's sheepish thoughts, but is quickly silenced by a loud and painfully vicious sounding growl. It echoed throughout the trees like thunder, the sound shaking smaller foliage closer to the ground. They feel it under their feet and Leah watches as the older wolves attention springs directly to Jacob and Jeremy. She follows, trotting closer to see what they were doing. Neither were paying anyone mind as they scanned the forest carefully, looking for any signs of it's whereabouts. Jacob eased himself forward, mindful of the strewn twigs and rocks beneath his paws. He ducked his head and tip toed further, his head finally poking through the remaining brush.

She had never seen this place before and was immediately aware that they'd strayed from La Push land. This valley was widespread and trees were scarce throughout it, seeming to only border it. She placed a large lake on the far side, connected to a stream that seemed to run in from the forest. It was beautiful, that much was undeniable; but there, in the middle, tearing up something that would probably never be dubbed anything particular given it's condition, was exactly what Jacob had predicted.

The large creature stood much taller than any wolf, it's head bulky and wide. It's mouth seemed to spread literally from one ear to the other, it's large teeth overlapping and spewing from it's lips. It's neck was verging on inexistent as it's head seemed to connect directly with it's back, it's spine grotesquely visible under it's thick armor-like skin. In fact, they looked more like scales than anything else, it's chest and underbelly a different material, a softer one. They all scanned this… thing… thoroughly, some truly shocked by what they saw. It's body was like that of a wolf, it's four legs appearing more like large stumps connected with the large mass, flowing into it's feet that were easily larger than most of their own heads. It's claws were visible, like most everything else, from where they were standing yards away. Jacob grimaced at the sight, having thought he'd never see one of these nameless beats again.

"_What the fuck Jacob?_" Jared piped up, his voice thick with surprise.

Jacob, even in wolf form, released a heavy sigh. "_Well… this is going to be harder than I thought._"

"_Just.. Follow me in_," Jacob began. "_It's only weak spots are it's eyes, it's neck, chest, and under belly. Whatever you do, stay __**away**__ from it's tail. Those barbs are no joke, stay in front of it at all times. Sam, Jeremy and I will try our best to keep it's attention, one of us will try and contain that fucking tail.. The rest of you get under it, tear at whatever you can reach._"

The group heard Alex gulp loudly, "_where are the others.. You said there were more?_"

"_Don't worry about that right now. Just do what you're told and follow everyone's lead.__Everyone stay put until I say, spread out, just like we planned. Wait for my signal._"

As much as Leah wanted to protest as she watched him trot briskly to where this thing was, she kept silent, dropping to her stomach and watching intently. Jeremy stayed put, following what seemed to be his orders also. Everyone scattered with their designated pairs and followed the wood line, only their eyes visible through the darkness created by the above Hemlocks.

Jacob knew the instant he had it's attention as he approached, it's body stiffening and it's beady black eyes narrowing to small slits. He could see it's muscles clearly flexing underneath this armor it wore, it's large tail finally showing itself, the tip flung up to the sky only to be brought back down with a loud bang, shattering the earth where it landed. Jacob circled it slowly, his movements calculated and precise as he assessed it's strengths and weaknesses. It's strengths overpowering a great deal. It's head didn't move from the large carcass it was holding tightly in it's grasp, only it's eyes following Jacob as he moved. It didn't need to see him, Jacob knew that. Like him, whatever this was had been conditioned to defend itself, or take orders from someone who harbored it; one or the other.

He felt it rising, it's head ghoulishly turning to find what was currently pestering it during a meal. Jacob watched with disturbing fascination as it rose to it's full height, it's bones cracking loudly with the controlled movements, it's head rising only to come back down as it releases a loud wail in Jacob's direction. -A clear warning.

It shakes it's head, thick streams of saliva flung from the sides of it's mouth as it did so. The first step forward is a clear indication to Jacob that it is, indeed, aggressive. Nothing he's done so far holding any sort of hostility. His last encounter with one had been less than enjoyable, he was sure this would be no different. As it stalks forward, each step shaking the ground beneath it and digging into the dirt, Jacob is suddenly yanked from today, and pulled into a day years before. During his first encounter. Everything comes flying back all at once, hitting him with such intensity that he literally has to shake himself to return to the task he's facing. He can feel the anxiety flowing from the wood line, each of the wolves waiting for their turn to assist him. Unfortunately, some were bound to get hurt.

He waited a few more moments, watching it as it began snarling and snapping violently in his direction, his absent movements only seeming to piss it off further. As it took it's first lunge forward, he called for them to slowly come in as he quickly, but carefully, dodged this first attack. It landed flat on it's stomach, sliding across the ground briefly before jumping back to it's feet, it's tail flailing carelessly above it. He watched as each of the wolves crept from their places in the woods, inching towards it, looking to him for the right time to move.

"_Whose taking the tail?_" Jeremy asks, in an almost cheery tone.

"_Fuck that, I had __it__ last __time__,_" Sam interjects, leaving Jacob as the only option.

He rolled his eyes and nodded towards them, following the slow circle that everyone was making around it to his position in the back. As soon as he was there, the creature seemed to notice this threatening group after losing sight of him, it's first instinct of course being to attack. -So it did.

It was as if they were on an assembly line, each falling in to take their turns when necessary. Jeremy, Sam and Paul approached first; all three cautious with every movement. Leah noticed how slow everything was moving, nothing about this seeming normal.

"_These kinds of things have to be approached gingerly,_" Embry almost whispered. _"If we make a wrong move, it will hurt someone. If it makes a wrong move, it could die. It's like some sort of strategy game, each is waiting on the other to move. We can only hope we're smarter._"

Sam stood off directly in front of this beast, the front of his body lowering with his head as his lips retracted around his teeth; the large, white daggers accompanied by low menacing growls. He flicked his eyes to Jacob one more time before launching himself at the head, Jeremy going strait for the neck, Paul sliding under it and attaching himself to it's stomach with tooth and claw. Leah watched on as the once slow movements exploded into something out of a movie. And just when she thought this was going to end easily, her eyes wandered to Jacob. He crouched, his eyes following the end of the creatures extended extremity, until finally, he lunged. He caught the soft piece of skin connecting the large barb-covered mass on the end, to the tail itself, latching on for dear life.

As she and the others watched it begin to thrash him around with unbelievable force, the large creature begins to buck wildly, it's mouth grabbing hold of Sam's midsection and flinging him to the side. As soon as he's off, John is on, desperate attempts at gouging it's eyes seeming to be his sole purpose. It's then Leah notices the formation. Jeremy is thrown to the side, another takes his place. Paul lets out a horrific shriek as the creature drops to the ground and crushes him beneath it, the large wolf barely able to get out before being trampled again. As soon as he scrambles out of the way, Embry leaves her side and takes Paul's place, gliding under the creature with ease and immediately attacking it's belly. When John is throw away, Leah shrugs and sucks in a breath, figuring now to be as good a time as ever.

She leaps forward and lands a few inches away, timing it's disheveled movements as it begins to kick up dirt and dust after it's claws rid a small patch of grass from the ground. As soon as it turns back to face her, she feels another wolf push her up, giving her some extra momentum before she crashes into the large head and grips the bridge of it's snout with her teeth. It was only when the creature tilts it's position that she notices it was Keegan who pushed her as he was taking his place at the neck.

It seemed like forever that they were like that, all of them being jerked and whipped around violently as it tried to free itself of them. But it was truly only seconds. She hears another loud yelp and watches Embry roll out from under it, now growing tired of this process. She claws her way up to get a better grip and opens her mouth as wide as she can, biting down so that her bottom teeth scar one eye, her top dragging across the other. The creature releases an ear shattering screech and it's movements quickly become more rash. Before anyone can really even get the words out, Leah looks up and sees another one charging at them, it's gigantic form slamming directly into it's equal and sending the attached wolves spiraling to the ground, yelps and whimpers distinct in the air as they all are crushed beneath the two masses.

From there everything quickly accelerates. The by standing wolves move in to distract while those who have been injured have time to recuperate and gather themselves. Leah peeks up to find both creatures covered in wolves, all of them biting and clawing pointlessly at it's outer armor. She looks over to Jacob who is already back on his feet, scanning the area.

"_Where's Sam?_" He asks loudly, everyone who is now ready to continue, suddenly searching for the only missing body.

"_He was just right here,_" Keegan rasps, his throat now clamped painfully as he tries to shake it off.

He sees the clear distraction this is causing Jacob and urges the others to follow him back, all of them doing so accept for Embry and Leah.

"_Go help them, I'll find him,"_ was all he said before darting to the still frantic and verging on chaotic battle currently raging.

They do as they're told and before long, are lost in what they're doing, the weakening of one pushing them all to fight harder. Jeremy releases his hold on the first one's neck, his eyes darting frantically around the valley, finally spotting what he thought he heard.

From the wood line, a tremor through the trees indicates movement and as he watches, he's shocked to see what's happening. In one large burst, several trees are thrown out of the way as another creature plows through them, Sam in front of it. It's then he notices Sam's current predicament. It has it's mouth lodged around Sam's torso, his body shoved shallowly into the ground as it pushes him forward while it runs, breaking the earth as it drags Sam's seemingly limp body.

A few others notices and move forward, only breaking into runs when they see Jacob trailing it, zig zagging his way around expelled rocks and other hard debris. So focused on his friend, Jacob is suddenly thrown an image from a still distanced Jeremy, the creatures tail whipping around Jacob's head forcing him to make a quick decision. He decides against falling back, feeling the urgency pulsing from Sam, so instead lunges to it's side, following along side it until it takes an unexpected turn. It surprises him and turns into him, it's side crashing against his with too much force for his smaller body, it's weight outdoing him by at least a ton. Jacob's feet catch underneath him as it topples over him, momentarily planting him into the ground and rolling across him. Jacob feels the earth cave under him, the distinct crack of hard ground mixing with the sound of his own bones breaking.

When air is finally reintroduced to him, he scrambles to his feet much quicker than the beast obviously anticipated, wasting no time in sinking his teeth into the side of it's face. Sam is whimpering under them, his pained cries faint through the menacing sounds the creature is emanating. Jacob shakes his head harshly while scraping his paws frantically across it's skin, the gashes sending blood flying to the ground as the creature wails it's protest. He continues to desperately try and make it release him, the others visibly making lee way with the other two and easing his worry from their end. As it begins running in circles, still dragging Sam with it, Jacob, for the first time in a very long time, feels a sense of dread creep up on him.

"_It's loosening_," Sam exclaims, his own paws kicking upward to try and ease the pressure.

Jacob releases and clamps back down with everything he has, the creatures mouth flinging open and dropping the black wolf to the ground, now focusing on the russet one causing him so much distress. He lets go and falls to the ground with a thud, getting up only in enough time to see it going back for Sam.

"_What the hell did you do to this thing?_" Jacob barks, bursting into a sprint and catching it's front foot.

"_I wish I knew,_" Sam tried to tease, unable to find much funny through the painful sensations pulsing all over his body.

As the second creature goes down, Leah and the others turn their attention to the frantic scene just yards away from them. In an attempt to help, some stay behind to be sure the two are dead, while the others rush to take care of what they hope to be the last of their problems.

Sam scrambles hopelessly to his feet, watching as Jacob dodges bite after bite; attack after attack, only to be knocked senseless by that boulder of a head. As soon as Jacob hit's the ground it turns back to him, it's black figure shaking with fury. Sam limps to the side, trying to put some distance between them, but looks up to find exactly what is coming next. In an attempt the quicken the blow that seems inevitable, he closes his eyes and squeezes, sure that this will hurt worse than anything else he's ever felt….if he lives through it.

He hears the loud battle between the air and tail as it comes swinging from the side, faint whistles audible through the sharp barbs awaiting on the end of it. Just when he feels the wind flying by him, a sharp pain shoots through the side of his neck, his body twisted sideways as his eyes snap open. There was a quick blur of unmistakeable russet, then black, a devastating blow then knocking the wind from him as he's hurled to the ground; a blood curdling cry escaping...- Jacob?

* * *

**Teaser for ch. 38- A World of Bullshit.**

Sam stares down at the scene before him, utterly shocked, and at a complete loss for words. He relaxes, hearing the approaching footsteps, knowing that they'll take care of him. Watching through blurred vision, he stays awake long enough to see that they make it over to his friend, -the man that just saved his life.

* * *

**a/n. I'm so sorry, I had to cut it off. My page count is reading fifteen… I've well surpassed my limit. This was a big scene to write, and as you can tell, I couldn't fit it all in this chapter. Next chapter will of course pick up right where this one left off. I'll have it out quick so no worries. **

**Review please!**


	38. A World of Bullshit

**a/n. PHEW! Dear lord… these two chapters were killers. Again, everyone will be in this so watch for the switch of names. Nobody complained about last chapter but I worked too hard to have someone confused over something as simple as pov direction. Thanks for all the great reviews! =) Loves.**

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**It All Started With a Promise**

**By: Cucumber07.**

**Chapter 38- A World of Bullshit.**

_The problems of the world, AIDS, Cancer, nuclear war, pollution, are, finally, no more solvable than that of a tree which has borne fruit; the apples are overripe and they are falling - what can be done?… Nothing can be done, and nothing needs to be done. Something is being done - the organism is preparing to rest._

_-David Mamet. _

Dirt seemingly fills every air particle surrounding him as he desperately scrambles to get out from under Jacob and the creature that is now crushing him. He can hear loud yelps and whimpers escaping his Alpha as he, too, tries to find some sort of escape. Sam is, again, thrown and topples back down to the ground as his vision slowly comes back to focus. He whips his head around and sees, yet again, this monstrous being coming towards him. Unsure of the precise seconds it had been since his last miracle, Sam jumps to his feet and ponders making his own as Jacob, again, rounds the creature's side and digs his teeth into the side of it's neck. Nothing is truly clear anymore as he gathers what little strength he has left and lunges forward, gripping the other side of it's neck with as much force as he can put out. The two raise their hind legs and place them on it's side, preparing to play out the only option they feel they have left until someone arrives.

Their worlds literally spin as it dances in circles, it's head whipping back and forth to try and force it's release upon the two injured wolves. It's actual _lack_ of a neck is what helps them in this scenario, both of them able to keep out of mouth's reach as they fight the dizziness now creeping in on them and try their best to hold on.

"_Start pulling,_" Jacob orders breathlessly, giving way in this last ditch effort to save them both.

They use their legs to push off as they tear ruthlessly at both sides of it's neck, blood soon overflowing as they use every ounce of strength to pull. They feel the creature wobbling, it's movements becoming scattered and directionless, and with one last tug, they manage to pull it completely off; both falling with it to the ground with hard thuds.

Sam's consciousness flows in and out until he pulls his head up and slowly makes his way to his feet. He eyeballs the area, searching for Jacob who had to have been on the other side of the giant mass lying lifeless in front of him. His limp becoming more distinct, he hobbles around to where he hopes he'll find his friend, wishing otherwise upon doing so. His gimp briefly forgotten, he runs to the large russet figure and seemingly towers over him, his heart skipping a few beats when he sees his eyes closed and his body unmoving. Sam stares down at the scene before him, utterly shocked, and at a complete loss for words. His mind is running a thousand miles a minute as he nudges Jacob softly with his snout, praying his eyes would snap open with the contact; but they don't. He feels himself having his own problems staying awake as his body lowers to the ground and rests between his Alpha and the dead creature only a few feet away. He relaxes, hearing approaching footsteps, knowing they'll take care of him. They'll take care of both of them.

His eyes wander back to Jacob as he notices the heavy breaths he hadn't seen before, shallow and filled with tension. He thinks back to what Jacob had said before, _'stay away from the tail, those barbs are no joke'_, and almost manages a laugh thinking of what he'll say when he wakes up and realizes _he_ got hit with them. Though the laugh doesn't last long as he reminds himself that he only has them in his back, because he'd somehow managed to pull Sam out of the way. The painful blow he felt, was only Jacob being pounded into him. He'd been spared the brunt of the force. Watching through blurred vision, he stays awake long enough to see that they make it over to his friend, -the man that just saved his life. Muffled voices speaking into both of their heads heard right before he loses control and slips into complete darkness.

During the course of mishap that had taken over the once constructed plan, everyone had apparently forgotten about the 'direct link'. The connection was so jumbled that Leah, who could barely see through the scrambling wolves still ripping both creatures to pieces, had no idea what was going on across the valley that was now littered with blood and turned up ground. She could feel it; the odd wrench in her chest from all of the injured wolves in her pack, and even the others. Looking around, she counted the heads of all that, in a matter of speaking, belonged to her. She found Talon and Keegan easily, Hailey following shortly after who was safely with Colin and Brady. Embry was still close by her side, Quil and Paul close enough that she could smell them through all the other scents flying around. She weaved her way quickly through the crowded area, scanning for Jacob or Sam, or even Jeremy.

The knot that she's done well to avoid during the whole thing is quickly making it's way through her stomach and up into her chest, her head falling victim to her body's harsh reaction to the worry she's not used to dealing with. Her reasoning for being worried usually only falls under the category of grades or whereabouts on a Saturday night; death or severe injury has only been recently reintroduced. She breaks free from the mob-like area and stands tall, her eyes following the large trail breaching the wood line not far from where she's now standing. Her eyes follow it about midway before she catches sight of Jeremy and a few others running to the bottom of the large valley, close to the lake she'd spotted earlier. Recognizing the massive size of one of these creatures, she breaks into a run, following the scattered few that have already spotted the scene. She tries to focus her attention on Jeremy's thoughts as he reaches it, disappearing soon after behind the large mass.

She's only about a minute behind them despite their head start, her arrival going unnoticed by the several wolves surrounding the beast that appears to already be dead. Her mind escapes to Jeremy's thoughts from earlier; Sam being attacked by one. Was this the same one? Did he kill it himself?

"_Leah, I think you should stay back for a minute,_" Jeremy offers softly, still out of sight.

As soon as he says the words she has a fairly good guess as to what happened, and who was involved. The fact that Jeremy thought she may actually stay away almost, _almost_, brought humor to the now very stressful situation.

"_What happened?_" She demands while making her way around to where she heard them shuffling, her path blocked abruptly by an invisible wall the moment she sees Sam and Jacob lying on the ground.

Her mind and body seemingly stop working for a moment, her vision centered on the two giant wolves lying perfectly still before her. Deciding against a brash reaction, Leah takes a moment to watch them, relieved to see them both breathing. With this discovery, she moves forward. Her paws are numb as she pads the ground carefully, what she's being careful of, she's unsure. She passes Sam, unintentionally ignoring his state of being and pinpointing her snout directly to Jacob's face.

"_We need to send someone to the Cullen's,_" Embry says quickly as he approaches. "_Carlisle will have to meet us at Jacob's…a lot of them cant make it all the way to the manor.._"

The order is passed to Brady, the rest that remain uninjured instructed to help those who need it back to La Push. Embry comes to a stop at Leah's side, looking on at the two who still remain unmoved, the barbs in Jacob's back eliciting a minute wince upon seeing them.

"_Are they okay?_" He asks quietly, watching closely as Leah drops down to lay beside Jacob.

"_They're breathing…if that's what you mean…_," Jeremy states dryly, his mind wandering to how they're going to get them home.

Leah's head shoots up as Jacob's begins to rise, blowing heavy, messy breaths from his snout. His eyes flutter open, his movements pained and shaky.

"_Jacob stop moving, you're going to hurt yourself,_" Jeremy scolds, moving to his other side in an attempt to help Leah balance him.

"_I can make it to the house_," Jacob rasps, finally getting to his stomach.

During the time it takes Jacob to make it to his feet, his balance seeming completely off and body looking as if it will give out any moment; Sam begins to stir. Jacob wobbles briefly, his mind slowly coming back into the now and able to asses what's going on.

"_Jake I don't think you should be standing up.._," Embry says with a hint of uncertainty, following Jacob's thoughts as he goes through what happened.

"_Em's right… just lay back down, we'll get you home,_" Leah offers, she and Jeremy still on either side of him.

"_Just help Sam up and let's get going._"

Sam, upon waking up, could hear the sheer frustration clinging tightly to Jacob's words. He was sure it resulted from the pain he's surely in, but wasn't sure as to how aware he was of who he was talking to. Jacob's mind was fairly jumbled, nothing too clear without watching his play by play a few times over. It only made him feel about a thousand times worse.

Jacob limped forward, his entire left side shaking and twitching from what they could only guess was a result of the pain. He wasn't using his front leg at all, only putting weight on his back to keep from losing balance. Hopping was worse, but he couldn't bare to rest all his weight on both sides. It was apparently a lose, lose.

"_You okay?_" Leah asks softly, still walking beside him as he sets himself in a secure pace, peeking back every so often to check on Sam.

"_I'll be alright_," he assures, nudging her head with his. "_I've had worse_."

Silence overtakes the small group as they all make their way past the remnants of the day's events, none so much as glancing when passing by. They search the area briefly for any left behind, but find none and continue on their way to the house that was surely packed with injured wolves and pissed off imprints. That's how it usually worked when something like this happened; their worry always turned to anger. Upon reaching the back yard, they stop short and look on as Keegan and Talon help the last few left in the yard up onto the porch.

"_Told you they'd make a good pair,_" Jacob shot to Embry, a small smile gracing his thoughts.

Embry half-laughs, "_you were right, as usual._"

Leah leaves Jeremy and Embry with Jacob and Sam while phasing and entering the chaotic house for clothes, the mass of men who were either injured or just recovering from their injuries less than welcoming upon her entrance. She gathers enough for the four waiting and hurriedly makes her way back downstairs, only stopping when she sees Carlisle coming in the front door.

"What happened here?" He asks, looking around.

"I don't even know how to explain it," she shakes her head. "I have no idea what they were, but Jacob's outside with giant barb-things in his back. Him and Sam are pretty messed up."

Carlisle nods and follows her out, waiting for them at the bottom of the steps until they emerge, now clothed. He notices without trouble what's wrong with the two, Jacob's lack of use on his left side giving him a pretty good idea where most of the issues lie. Watching the two of them closely, he decides against having them wait and relays the message to Edward who is already working on those who need it most.

"Nice to see you again," Jacob says sarcastically, the wince he's trying to hide still noticeable to the experienced vampire. "Maybe one day I'll see ya without being beat to shit."

Carlisle manages a half smile but quickly loses it upon seeing the Alpha's back, the severity and length of time it will take to fix it now being shown to him.

"I think we should go inside," Carlisle says quietly, motioning to the door. "We should probably do this upstairs."

Jacob nods knowingly and allows Leah to lead him in, Sam and the other two following close behind. She slung his arm over her shoulder and allowed him to rest as much weight as he could on her as they climbed the steps, the task more tedious and frustrating than either had anticipated. Carlisle had everything ready when they got there, Jacob now seeming less than willing to cooperate.

"So what you just take them out and it'll heal on it's own after that.. Right?"

Carlisle grimaced slightly, "something like that. I'll have to clean them before they heal."

"Wonderful," Jacob rolls his eyes and moves to the bed, sitting on the edge for a moment. "What about Sam? Is he okay?"

"Edward will take care of him, it seems he's been spared too many severe injuries. His body has already been able to heal some of them, he'll be fine."

Jacob nods and lets out a heavy breath, looking up to Leah who is standing directly in front of him. She tilts her head slightly, watching as his face lets off a various amount of expressions, none of which she recognizes easily.

"You ready?" She whispers, offering a small smile.

"Yeah, sure," he nods shortly. "Been lookin' forward to this all my life.."

She manages a small laugh, the tension easing slightly when he grins. Carlisle sticks him with three shots before he lays down on his stomach, not expecting any of them to actually help; but it doesn't hurt to try, he supposes. Leah crawls onto the bed beside him, tracing his face softly with her fingers as Carlisle begins to explain what he's going to do; Jacob mouthing a '_he knows I don't care_' before jerking with the first feel of contact on his back.

"I'm sure you're aware that this is going to hurt like hell," Carlisle says with a smile. "I cant give you an estimated time that I'll finish, but I will say that you've really outdone yourself this time. I'm truly feeling intimidated right now….congratulations."

Leah watches as Jacob groans and closes his eyes, his face scrunching in anticipation. "Thanks, man. I'm always up for a challenge."

She places her hand on his head and her face only a few inches from his, her other hand already crushed in his.

"Alright," Carlisle confirms, "here we go."

* * *

Two hours.

It had been two hours since Leah and Jacob went upstairs. Two, miserable, nerve wrenching hours. Embry sat facing the wall in the kitchen, most of the crowd having already dissipated and gone home to recuperate. Keegan sat on the couch with his arms folded, Hailey sleeping soundly on his shoulder. Embry had meant to talk to him; he'd been more of a help than expected of him, he deserved a thank you. While Jeremy and the others exited hastily upon arriving, he'd stayed and helped as much as possible. It was quite the surprise, and a small insight into his character. Individually, not as a whole inside his pack.

"Hey Keegan," Embry says slowly, watching as the young wolf's head jerks up. "I just wanted to say thank you….from all of us. You were a big help today. You and Talon both. You guys did good."

"Thanks," he grins, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

"Yeah, thanks," Talon winks, coming in from his room. "Dad still upstairs with the doc?"

"Yep, haven't heard anything yet."

"Those things looked disgusting," Talon observes, shaking his head as he makes a drink.

Embry nods, "yeah, they were pretty bad. That's probably why he said stay away from them to begin with."

Talon nods and takes a seat across from Embry, sipping at the energy drink he'd stashed away in the fridge. "Is Sam alright?"

"Yeah, he's fine. He feels like shit about the whole thing…not that I blame him."

"He didn't do it on purpose.. I mean it's not his fault that thing attacked him, right?" Talon watches as Embry's face crumples, his head shaking evenly during the entire conversation.

"I dunno….I just think he was being irresponsible going off on his own. He knew better, he _knows_ better. Jacob had already spotted several different sets of tracks… I think feeling bad is the least he can do. Jacob's the one with the giant spikes sticking out of his fucking back. Doesn't seem like a fair trade off to me."

Talon and Embry's attention are pulled to the stairs when they hear footsteps, Leah's matted hair and puffy face pulling them in even further. She ignores them at first and moves to the refrigerator, pulling out the milk and a bottle of chocolate syrup; making quite possibly the largest glass of chocolate milk they'd seen… ever.

"He's okay, but Carlisle isn't finished," she finally speaks while placing the contents back where they belong. "I needed a break, will one of you go up there with him?"

Talon jumps from his seat and takes off, leaving no question or room for compromise.

"It's bad, huh?" Embry asks softly, keeping his eye on her as she slowly moves to the table.

"Worse than I thought it'd be," she says honestly, staring into her glass. "The drugs didn't work so he's awake. It's pretty overwhelming…he's in a lot of pain."

Embry stares at her and cant help the small growl that escapes him, the same thoughts he'd been having since they got home still fresh on his mind. "I cant believe this shit," he hisses through gritted teeth.

Leah looks up, her brows furrowing. "What? I mean he's going to be okay it's just hard watching him-"

"No, that's not what I mean," he says, putting his face in his hands. "All these years we've been doing this and it's still the same old shit. Someone does something stupid and _he_ gets hurt. Sam wanted to play hero or something and ended up getting Jacob impaled by some fucked up spikes… it's just old. What if that had been Talon or Hailey? Or Danny or Alex… fuck.. Keegan even? Or you! I mean it's just little things that this that make us weak. Jacob's been trying for so long to keep us afloat with no problems… always taking the fall for us when we get it trouble. It's sickening."

Leah grins slightly watching him rant, his face pulled into a definite pout. "I know what you mean," she says quietly, watching as he turned his attention back to her. "It seems to be a pattern around here, huh?"

"I'm not blaming Sam… not directly, I guess. I just don't understand what was going through his mind when he went off on his own.. For what? I mean where was he going? We were all fighting the two, why would he leave? It makes no sense to me."

"I'm sure he had a good reason, Em. It doesn't seem like Sam is the type to run off and put himself or others in danger for no reason. He felt pretty bad about the whole thing, ya know?"

"Good!" He said, throwing his hands in the air. "He should. Jacob would have never had to take that thing on had he not been off doing what-the-fuck-ever."

Leah chuckled, "you wanna tell me what's really got you bothered?"

Embry sighs and drops his head to the table. "I will if you will."

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb with me. Remember the eggs?" He says coyly, lifting his head and raising his brows challengingly.

Leah's face shifts when he reminds her, "I didn't know until just now," she croaks out.

"What do you mean?"

"Well…remember how I told you I was feeling sick?" She asks, looking back to her drink. "The only time I've ever been sick is when I was..-"

He watches her as she speaks, in a way knowing what she's about to tell him, but unable to have it confirmed as the back door slings open with a bang.

"I need Jacob," Jeremy says loudly, looking around the room for him. "Now."

"Jacob is still upstairs with Carlisle, they're not finished," she returns while standing, her face scrunching with annoyance.

"I'm sorry, there is someone here to speak with him, someone from the High Council."

Embry stands, his eyes widening with surprise. "What? Why? What do they want?"

"She wont speak with me, she wants Jacob, directly."

Leah looks over at Keegan who has already risen, placing Hailey softly down on the pillows at the other end of the couch. He strides over to them, his face shifting completely when he reaches Jeremy's side.

"I uh, I don't know what to do he has to-"

"I'm coming, damn," Jacob bites from the stairs, limping his way to them when he reaches the bottom. "She didn't say what this is about?"

"Nope, just that she wanted to speak to you," Jeremy recites, his eyes oddly focused on Keegan.

Jacob stood for a moment, two large barbs still protruding from his left side, staring at nothing in particular. "Tell her to come here, I don't feel like walking and I sure as hell cant phase back.."

Jeremy nods and hastily retreats back the way he came, the sound of him phasing heard by all who were listening. Keegan stands awkwardly by the door, seemingly torn.

"You don't have to go," Jacob says quietly. "They're coming back here, it's cool if you want to stay. There's a free bed upstairs."

Keegan looks between Jacob and the door a few more times before shaking his head reluctantly. "Nah, it's okay. I have to patrol in an hour anyway. Might as well get it over with."

"Are you hungry?" Leah asks, pointing to the cabinets. "There's plenty here, feel free to help yourself."

"He's fine, thank you Miss Clearwater. He'll eat when his patrols are through," John says almost coldly as he makes his way up the back porch steps, eyeing the scene before him.

"It's no big deal, right? He said he patrols in an hour, that's plenty of-"

"Thanks again, but he needs to go," the brawny man interrupts her, looking only to Keegan as he speaks. "Say your goodbyes and get going."

"Uh, I'll see you guys later," Keegan smiles shortly before brushing past John and jumping from the porch.

"Was that necessary?" Jacob asks, watching as John entered the kitchen. "He could have eaten, it's not a big deal."

"Keegan will do what he's told and per Jeremy, he has to go patrol, now."

"I'm sure he does," Jacob shakes his head and turns for the living room, gripping the wall for support.

Leah and Embry take seats on either side of him when he reaches the couch, Embry finding it hard to leave their conversation where it was currently laying. His interest was more than peaked and the thought of what she was suggesting, and how oddly excited it made him, had his mind in a messy puddle.

"You two okay?" Jacob asks, leaning forward uncomfortably. "You both seem distracted."

"Uh, nah we're good….just tired," Embry covers, leaning back to look around him.

"I'm so ready for bed," Leah groans, rubbing her eyes. "I cant think I'm so tired."

Jacob smiles halfheartedly, "I know the feeling."

As Embry gathers the courage to signal her attention behind their Alpha, they hear a light tapping at the front door, a strange scent produced from under the door. Jacob waits for a moment, listening to see how many are outside, maybe pinpoint who is here. He's quickly cut short when Jeremy comes in from the kitchen, an odd look about him.

"You might want to move her to her room," he motions towards Hailey. "There are enough people interested in her, I wouldn't think you'd care for any more."

"Leah wake her up," Jacob agrees immediately, his mind wandering to earlier that day. "We don't know whose with them."

When Leah has Hailey halfway to her room Jacob signals for Jeremy to open the front door, a small, blonde woman revealed standing in the frame. She's petite, her facial features small and rounded, her makeup dark enough to make you think of a Halloween costume. She's wearing a navy blue suit, her jacket covering what appears to be a _very_ low cut tank top beneath it. Had any of the men been interested in Barbie type women, they would have been distracted by it, along with her mid thigh length skirt; but they weren't.

"Hi, my name is Tammy, I'm here to represent the wishes of the High Council. And to address the new rules they have set regarding those of you living in this area," the woman speaks while entering, immediately seating herself on the love seat and placing several papers on the coffee table.

Jacob watches her, already annoyed. "What new rules? There haven't been new rules in almost twenty years…"

"With all due respect, Mr. Black, I have been sent here to inform you of these new limitations, not to fill your need to control everything. I'm well aware of how you run things, and while it's very impressive that you have done so with only one ally over all these years; I frankly don't give a shit."

Leah reenters the room and takes her seat beside Jacob, curious as to what she's here about. Although, judging by both her Alpha and pack mates furious expressions, she's sure they already have an idea.

"With all due respect, _Tammy_, whatever you've come here to tell me is of absolutely no interest to me or my… _ally_… we have been doing things a specific way for a long time now, and it works."

She grins, "time to pack it up and hand it over to those who have the authority. To put it simply, as far as these creatures go, if you spot another one on or near your land, you're not to harm it."

Jacob stares, dumbfounded, "excuse me?"

"Per the Council; if one such unknown creature is found on or near your land, you are to cause it no harm," she begins, reading from a slip of paper. "If the situation demands action, trap it, and bring it in for further observation. We have no direct proof that they are harmful, nor a threat to our people. By order of the High Council, you are hereby ordered to allow these creatures to live in peace. Anyone who disobeys will be punished accordingly and will be immediately stripped of their position as Alpha of their assigned pack and land."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me?" Jacob asks incredulously, gaping at the small woman. "They've killed at least ten people as it stands, they attacked us today without provocation. It's _impossible_ to trap one of those things. So you're suggesting that we stand by and watch as they continue to kill innocent people, maybe even us, and do nothing?"

"I'm sorry, Jacob, truly I am. I know how hard it must be for you to accept someone barking orders to you… you've been doing it for so long now," she sneers. "But the fact of the matter is, you have no say. What happened today was very unfortunate and the High Council requests your presence tomorrow morning at dawn to discuss what will be done about it."

"What do you mean what will be done?" Jeremy breaks in. "These rules were only just shown to us. You cant honestly think they could punish him for something he knew nothing about?"

"They can do whatever they want," she barks, still smiling. "Still, I don't think he'll be punished, as much as I'd love to see it so. They merely want to speak with him about these rules, and the new border rules. They are very unhappy with the fact that the two of you have lifted your borders. That will more than likely be the subject of tomorrows meeting."

"It's none of their fucking business," Jacob snaps, refusing to remove the glare he has fixed on her. "They don't protect us, they don't help us, they don't pay us to do everything we do. We suffer through all this bullshit for 'our people' while they sit up on their little thrones not having to worry about anything other than what they'll have their servants make them for dinner. Since when do they even give a shit? We've been doing this on our own since we got back from War and _now_ all of the sudden they think they can just step in and change whatever they want just because they _want_ to?"

Tammy watches him as his temper slowly dissolves, his face tensing and his eyes blackening with his rising frustrations. "Now, now Jacob.. Let's not lose our temper, huh? Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself, you don't seem to be in any position to be fighting… and besides, as I said before, they can do whatever they want."

Tammy gathers her papers from the table and shoves them into her brief case, standing and pulling her purse over her shoulder. "It's been lovely, we'll see you tomorrow, dear."

"Actually, he'll be in no condition to travel tomorrow," Carlisle said from the stairs, reaching the bottom as Tammy approaches the door. "It will simply have to wait."

"He's a big boy, vamp," she states dryly. "I've seen him endure worse and I'm sure he'll be ready by morning."

"Actually, he wont. There's a venom in the barbs, it slows the healing process. I'm sorry but, as I said, it will simply have to wait."

She looks over to Jacob who is still seething, a small smile dancing on her lips. "Fine, I'll give him tomorrow. That's all I have to offer."

The door slams shut behind her as she leaves, the amount of damage she caused with her brief visit still lingering as Jacob tries desperately to gain control over himself. He looks to Jeremy who, despite the lack of insults thrown his way, seems just as pissed.

"What a bitch," Embry breathes.

"No shit," Jacob bites. "What the fuck is that about? How did they even know about what happened today?"

"Adam," Jeremy replies coldly. "It had to be him. He's the only one out of place."

"Well this is just perfect," Jacob groans, dropping his head into his hands. "As if things weren't fucked up enough as it is, leave it to us to have something else dropped on top of it all."

Leah and Embry exchange a pained glance, both feeling the slightest bit sorry for Jacob, but neither having much to offer in the situation. Despite the rising problems, Embry cant shake their conversation and leans back so that he's out of view from those around him, Jeremy now taking over their attention.

"_What were you saying?_" He mouths, watching as she ran her fingers softly through Jacob's hair, his head still in his hands.

"_You first_," she returns the silent exchange, trying to calm Jacob down in the process.

"_I imprinted_."

"_I'm pregnant._"

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**a/n. Phew! I'm now dead ass tired. Reviews please! **

**Next will be some.. Troubles… then the end, I think. **

**Loves to all of you reading and reviewing. It's been a long ride. Thanks for hanging in there. :D**


	39. A Bit of Insight Pt 1

a/n. Warning: references to drug use and other odd things here and there. *sighs*… this one is strange. Idk.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing Twilight, just a fanfic.**

* * *

**It All Started With a Promise**

**By: Cucumber07**

**Chapter 39- A Bit of Insight Pt. 1**

Keegan moves silently through the forest, darkness and an almost empty feeling enveloping him as he continues on his way back to Jacob's house. He's sure Jeremy will be there; the mere thought of being in his presence making him sick to his stomach. Spending so much time with Jacob's pack has only made matters between him and his father worse, granting him the sure knowledge that their relationship was far from normal; and Jeremy was far from someone he'd ever want to be. It was awkward, to say the least, being around the families all the time. They were kind and generous, yet, there was always that tinge of uncertainty when he or one of the other pack members arrived. He didn't blame them. The only thing he could say really grinded on his nerves, was how comfortable everyone seemed to be around Jeremy. He, and his brothers, were the least of their worries; yet, they were who everyone seemed to fear. Jeremy, with his fake smile and warm gestures, was a snake almost one hundred percent of the time; but everyone loved him. It was a situation Keegan was completely unable to understand. He never claimed to be poised in the art of social skill, but could say with all honesty, that he never failed to try.

Leah, Rachel and Sue had claimed spots as his favorites; all three woman more than welcoming to whomever entered their home. As much as he would have liked to deny it, he found himself sucking up to Leah more often than not. Hailey had somehow weaseled her way into his brain, and seemed to have altered his thought process completely. Whereas once, a few weeks ago, he would have rather died than converse with people outside of pack relations; he now finds himself making any excuse to be inside the house. If with her, meant with them, he'd gladly put forth the effort. He'd done all he could to help with the situation earlier that day, and found working with Talon much easier and much more comfortable than he'd expected. In the beginning, he'd had no interest in speaking with Talon, let alone getting along with him. Now, as he'd heard Talon say, he seemed almost like a friend. It came so natural to him, unlike any and all relationships he'd had with anyone else over the years. His pack had been his entire world until all of this mess started. It being a mess, because that's what he felt like.

All boundaries had been crossed, all rules had been bent and twisted until there was really nothing left to steer him in the right direction. - What is the right direction? He's been taught a certain way since the moment he phased, now all of the sudden, everything's shifted and it seems his father has adopted something he'd never agreed with before; compromise. Jeremy has never believed in the word, and never showed any sign of folding until the summer began. Come to think of it, he didn't care to involve himself with Jacob's problems, until he found out about his family's return. Another aspect that had Keegan on edge since the moment the borders were lifted. No borders, means no hassle to get in and out of someone's territory. As hard as it was for Keegan to believe that Jeremy suggested it, it was even harder to think of Jacob agreeing to it. He'd always admired Jacob and his way of doing things, he hated to see someone so strong and experienced fall for one of his father's fucked up and selfish plots to get himself higher up in the chain of command. - Something Keegan had never hoped to achieve. One of the many reasons Jeremy has all but disowned him as his son.

Faint lights come into view as he ducks below another low hanging branch and weaves his way through the last remaining brush before reaching one of the circuits. He's relieved to see another wolf out. He waves to alert his presence but is pulled to the side just before it turns to see him, small hands gripping his wrist and yanking him behind a large tree. He turns sharply and is surprised to find Alex standing directly in front of him, her finger held to her lips in a hushed attempt to keep him quiet.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" He whispers, taking her by the arm and leading her further away from the pathway. "You know you're not supposed to be patro-"

"I need your help," she interrupts, stopping them when she sees the lights fade completely.

"My help?" He asks incredulously, his brows crumpled and his lip curled. "Why not Talon or Hailey?"

"Because they don't know the things you and I know," she slaps his hand away from his body and moves closer, pulling a letter from her pocket. "My mom sent me this," she unfolds it and hands it to him.

Keegan reads over the scribbled writing, barely able to understand half of what is said between the dotted ink and splotched areas of the paper. Anna has never been reliable, or trustworthy, nor has she ever been one to put past doing drugs or soliciting herself for money; but the way this letter is written, has even Keegan wondering if she's still mentally competent.

"Okay….she sounds fucked up, what's your point?" He flicks the letter back to her and folds his arms, watching her as she pulls another envelope from her jacket pocket.

"I haven't seen her since our little 'welcome to the pack' party and I'm worried about her," she says quietly, fingering the corners of the paper in her hand. "I, uh, packed her some pictures of me and stuff from the summer so far… I just want to make sure she's okay."

"What does this have to do with me?"

He can see the hesitance surface in her features, her eyes quickly flicking back and forth between him and the ground. Seeing her fret over her mother only brings about a wave of memories from a time when he _had_ a mother, all the times he worried and stressed, only to have his worries quelled by a changed woman who couldn't give two shits about him or what he was doing. A look into the lives of women on his reservation, and on Alex's at one point, would have made Kim and Emily, two who seem to dislike and complain about most everything, respect and appreciate the lives they're given. A little known fact amongst imprints and family members throughout packs like Jacob's; they don't _have_ to give you anything. They could so easily revert to how many of them live and save themselves a ton of headaches and free up their schedules about ten fold. If anything, Keegan would feel over privileged to live the way Jacob's pack does.

"Well…." she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, shifting her weight nervously. "I was wondering if you would go with me to give her this, you know, just like a tag along sort of thing I guess."

"Again, why not Talon?"

"Because Keegan!" She half yells, her reluctance to tell him quickly becoming visible. "He doesn't know these parts like you do…. I need you to help me find it. She wrote the address on here.."

Keegan eyes the paper, rolling them shortly after. "She gave you coordinates, not directions. There isn't an address because she probably has no idea where she is. She probably isn't _at_ an address."

"I know that but I'm sure these are right," she moves forward and points at the paper. "See, this looks familiar…. It's right in between Jeremy's land, Jacob's land and Ronnie's land. I'm not sure whose it is from there…. She didn't say, but I'm sure she'll meet me. Please, Keegan? If you'd have had someone around that was able to help you back when this _was_ you, wouldn't you want them to?"

He watches her as she steps back and stuffs all the papers pack in her pocket, her hands shaking from what he could only guess was anxiety. Sure, he understood where she was at with this whole '_mom'_ situation, but he also knew where it led. An end he didn't want to be present for. But again, he found himself unable to fight his initial reaction to help her. That little voice he's always followed thoughtlessly screaming at him to drag her ass back home and tell them to lock her up before her heart is shattered into a million pieces, is silenced by the pleading and almost pitiful look he sees pouring from her eyes. - _When did I become such a fucking girl?_ - He thinks to himself, his mind now racing with distant memories and recollections of a time he'd much rather leave forgotten.

"Look, I'll take you… but if we're out for more than an hour and we cant find it… we're coming back and you're never to mention this again, you understand?"

Her eyes light up noticeably as soon as he begins to speak, her mouth pulling into a large grin as she leaps forward and wraps her arms around his neck. "Thank you so much! I knew Hailey was right about you."

"Let's not bring her into this," he groans, all but shoving her away from him. "C'mon, before I change my mind."

"She was though," Alex continues, following closely behind him. "I remembered you as just one of them… you know, how everyone is your pack is. I cant remember much from when you were going through all that with your mom, so I just figured that you did what they all did; forgot about it and shut yourself off. It wouldn't have been a surprise, seems to be how everyone handles things around here. Y'know, I was so worried about her when she said she was meeting you, I almost told. But then when she kept coming back and nothing seemed to have happened, I figured maybe she was right and-"

"Will you shut up!" He turns quickly and puts a hand to her chest, stopping her roughly. "I'm not here to be your friend or to compare sob stories…I'm here to take you to your mom, give her those pictures, and get the fuck back where we're supposed to be. I cant get in trouble again, so will you keep your mouth closed and just follow me… please?"

Alex watches as his face crumples further with frustration every time a word escapes his mouth, his body suddenly tense and rigid. She thinks back to the first time she saw him, and how different he seems to be. He looked older, more mature, and was definitely much larger. She knew he'd help her, he'd been through close to the same thing with his mom. She was void of the details but from what she gathered, it was a huge deal and caused more than one or two fights between him and his dad, and him and the rest of his pack. It was a shock even to her how easily Jeremy's pack seemed to turn on one another, Keegan's situation being the turning point for her view on all packs outside of her own and Jacob's. The gist being; you cant trust any of them.

"Alright, I'm sorry," she holds her hands up and grins sheepishly, following him as he turns and continues walking.

Seeming to be blessed with some sort of internal clock, Keegan knew exactly when their time had hit fifty four minutes and twenty eight seconds; either that or he had just been counting in his head the entire time, nothing about this settling right with him. As they approached where their destination should have been, he could see Alex's shoulders slump and her face fall. It didn't take much to see that she was searching for much more than a figurative 'x' written on a slip of paper. What she was searching for, Keegan knew from experience, would never be found. Alex's life had been no bed of roses, and like Keegan, she had little to show for all of the late nights and countless hours she spent doing 'pack' duties for some greater cause that nobody ever seemed to want to explain. Neither of the two young adults, neither having been teenagers at any point in their lives, had much to show for anything they had done.

Their differences were few, but the ones that were visible, were ones that separated them to a point that, despite their many encounters, left Alex with no clue as to who Keegan really was. She remembered him as a young boy, not being much older than her, suddenly submerged in this lifestyle that she had once thought to be some sort of gang activity or cult affiliation amongst boys and men throughout their reservation and all surrounding them. She knew that, for reasons unknown, her mother and father were separated and that she was never to speak of her 'real father', to her 'fake father' no matter what the circumstances. When she 'came of age', and the fever set in as it did with most of the teens living near or around their assigned packs, everything became disturbingly clear. Her mother and father's story was explained to her, and the truth about why she could never speak of Jared to Tyrone left her with a newfound determination to be sure Tyrone _never_ found out. This knowledge though, crushed all her hopes of ever living with Jacob and his seemingly superior people. It took her 'step' father dying, her mother deserting her and everything that had been set in place her entire life exploding all at once, for her to have the only thing she's ever really wanted. - The pros and cons were hard to distinguish at that point. Especially for a sixteen year old girl. - A sixteen year old girl who had been living like a twenty one year old woman most of her pre-teen/teen life.

The lines set in place were hard to decipher. Keegan and Alex's common ground being both painful and, for Alex, unknown. He watched her carefully as she turned almost complete circles searching for anything that would point her to her mother's whereabouts, her exasperated and almost panicked state doing nothing for his nerves that had been going haywire since crossing from Jacob's land, to Jeremy's. They weren't breaking any rules, but he was almost positive Jeremy would be less favorable of the action more so than Jacob. - His father seemingly two faced when it comes to his own agreement.

"This doesn't make sense," Alex breathes, still searching frantically for something… _anything._ "Why would she give me bad directions?"

Keegan releases a heavy breath and closes his eyes briefly, this very conversation being the entirety of his reasoning for wanting to leave this whole situation alone. It was a subject that had been the source of so many sleepless nights and teary eyed mornings that, despite his well standing pride, could easily still bring him to his knees.

"I tried to warn you," he says quietly, folding his arms in an attempt to quell the building chill lacing the air. "This isn't something you want to make a habit of. It never leads to anything. It's just one, big, disappointing and completely pointless dead end."

"No! I told you, she wouldn't give me bad directions. She's here somewhere, we just have to find her, I have a few minutes left so just help me."

It's in this moment that Keegan's ears pick up sounds he'd failed to recognize before, faint voices and the distinct crack of several fires barely grazing his heightened senses. She's right, they found it. - The only problem was, Keegan's realization of where they actually were, and where Anna was currently residing, was off limits to the likes of the two of them. Very few un-Alpha or Beta clad shape shifters would be caught dead in a place like this, and he was very adamant on remaining far, far away from it. He'd been here once before, a memory that would surely be the icing atop a cake that is trying desperately to rid him of his sanity now that his mind has been punctured with thoughts and images of his mother. He remains calm, determined to keep her from noticing his distress, and taps his wrist impatiently.

"Times up, Alex, let's go."

He turns and takes a few steps forward before noticing her absence behind him, near him….anywhere around him, actually. "Alex?"

"Keegan, c'mere!" He hears her whisper from a few feet away, hidden well by the crowded trees that are surrounding them. "I found it!"

He grunts shortly, his mind now running about a million miles an hour with different ways he could get them out of this. If she went in, if she refused to listen to him, he'd have to go with her; and that was something he dreaded even more so than spending time with his father. _That_ in itself was saying something. He crept up behind her and kneeled at her side, her seated figure shielded by small trees and large bushes. He notes the large smile spreading across her face. Unlike Hailey, or even Talon, a smile seemed to be a rarity coming from Alex. It seemed to heighten the natural beauty she probably didn't even notice she possessed; things like that just didn't matter to people like them. He shakes his head slowly, his eyes dropping to the dirt with the knowledge of what happens next. That smile will disappear quickly and probably be nearly impossible to ever replace, no matter how much time passes by.

"Alex, listen to me," he whispers, moving in front of her. "I need you to follow me out of here. We cannot go any further….trust me, you don't _want_ to go any further."

She shakes her head and what once seemed like a perfectly normal smile, he now realizes, is one of desperation. Losing a parent, or any relative or friend for that matter, is difficult; but this isn't a process that ends quickly. In Keegan's opinion, the lie he told Hailey about his mother dying when he was young, would have been much better than what he actually had to deal with for most of his life. After phasing, everything seemed to change. His mother was no longer that caring, loving, person he knew when he was a small boy. All of the effort and desire she put into spending time with him and remaining apart of his life seemingly disappeared along with the person he thought he knew. It was as if he'd never really known her at all, like she had been pretending or _lying_ to him and everyone around him until she saw that he had 'grown' and was now expected to take care of himself. Living in the 'normal world', without knowledge of this mess, for the first eleven or twelve years of his life had allowed him to become familiar with how families are supposed to be; how parents are supposed to be. Being literally thrown to the wolves, and having expectations of you raise so high that you have no idea where to even begin, is _not_ normal. He could never be who is father wanted him to be, and it shamed his father to a point that, after the fiasco involving his mother, he was really no longer his son at all. The weakness he supposedly showed while being forced to let his mother rot outside with strangers and kill herself with drugs and men, pushed Jeremy to violent and surprising measures. It didn't surprise those around him, but it surprised Keegan. He would have never expected his father to do the things he did in an attempt to force him _not_ to care for his mother anymore, and nothing was the same after that. Not for him anyway.

No matter how much 'training' he was put through, nor how long he was sent away on his own in an attempt to harden him, was he able to quell the emotions he always felt lingering below the surface. Everything reminded him of something, and more often than not, he felt some sort of pity for those that fell victim to his pack's ruthless nature. His life had been more than confusing in so many ways, and had he not been smart enough to use what he'd learned before phasing and the small influence he received from packs like Jacob's while among them, he is sure he'd be just like his father; if not worse.

"She's my _mom_. I'm not leaving until I find her and make sure she's alright."

Alex finally answers him with clipped and harsh words, her face hardening with determination as she leans forward to find the best way into the large camp. She's seen places like this before. Her visuals were short and only in passing but what she did know of them, they weren't favorable for people like her. To them, she was privileged; especially now that she's living in La Push. That tiny bit of information if given to someone asking, was enough to shift them into hostile territory almost immediately. She cranes her neck above one of the surrounding bushes, pushing the limbs away with her arm as the light from one of the fires seeps into the dark area they're hiding in. It's almost surreal, seeing it up close. Her pack had lived a lesser lifestyle than the La Push people, but it had been nothing like this. There were small wooden shacks built and scattered throughout the large opening, fires spread between them to distribute even amounts of light for everyone. There were tables here and there with fruits and vegetables covering them, pales of water at each end. She sees people drinking and laughing loudly, all of them dirty and ragged with nothing but tattered shorts to serve as their attire. The women seemed to put off an even rougher appearance with matted hair, most pulled into knotted buns atop their heads, their clothes made up of either old summer dresses or re-used pants and t-shirts. - Some didn't bother to wear shirts at all.

It was like traveling back thousands of years to a time when none of what mattered in the world outside of their mythological being today even existed. Appearance was nothing short of trivial, just as hygiene and self preservation. Her eyes travel to find some grouped together in circles, smoking who-knows-what or using what seemed to be dirty needles to do what she could only assume to be drugs. Her stomach turned watching them grimace at the contact, the purpose of what they were doing escaping her completely as their faces crumpled and their eyes pooled into what she could only describe as nothingness. She hears screaming and cries for help, the source eluding her as her breathing picks up and her iron determination slowly dissolves and is replaced with fear. Unwilling to find the reason for the women's cries, she turns sharply back to Keegan and tries desperately to control herself, hoping to quell her building nerves enough to fool him.

"Look, Alex, I understand… okay? I do. But this place… if she's here… she's gone. You asked me earlier if I wished I would have had someone to help me, right? I may have at the time, but knowing what I know now.. I actually wish the opposite. I wish I would have had someone to tell me what I'm telling you, to warn me, to push me away from it. Nothing you find in there is going to make you feel better. Finding her….it's only going to make it hurt worse."

"So I'm supposed to just leave and pray that she comes back to me? I cant keep not knowing, it's driving me insane."

Keegan sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, the arm he's rested on his knee suddenly shaking. "She's not coming back to you. You're going to go the rest of your life wondering where she is and what she's doing. If she's alive, if she's dead. How she died. How she's living. If she's lonely, if she's happy, if she's miserable, if she's sad. You're never going to feel better. If you know she's happy, it's going to piss you off because in ways, you wont want her to be happy because you're not happy without her. If you know she's sad, it will upset you because you feel like you can make her happy. But she doesn't want you anymore. She's not your mom anymore. Maybe she never was…"

He can see the tears beginning to pool and her brown eyes melt into a pool of warm chocolate, swimming behind the strength she's trying to emit. She looks up and searches his face, hoping, maybe praying, that he's lying to her. It seemed to much easier to assume that he was, to assume that he just wanted to go home.

"You're lying," she says slowly, the tears now streaming down her cheeks heavy within her words. "You just want to go home, right?"

"I don't have a home," he breathes, his own voice beginning to soften. "You do, with people that love you. Why cant you just accept that and leave this alone. This isn't your life anymore, just let it be."

"I cant, I have to know," she clips while standing, looking down on him while brushing herself off. "I'm going to find her tonight, you can stay here, I don't care. I don't need you anyway."

Before he can protest she's turned and pushed through the branches that had been hiding them so well, releasing them shortly after to block his view of her, leaving him stunned and reluctant to follow her. He knows going for help would only be a waste of time, she'd either be dead or gone before they had time to get back. He thinks of howling, sending out an alert, but that would only let those she's now approaching know that something is going on; making her look suspicious. With his options really limited, he begins going back and forth between waiting her out, or going in after her. The thought of how harshly she, Leah and Hailey effected Adam's pack, and even some of the others who had met them before, narrowing his choices even further. He looks through the brush and watches as she hastily makes her way to two wolves standing at the front, both large and brawny men, with nothing welcoming gracing their stances. He sees her speak, and they immediately react, their glares turning into something else he recognizes perfectly, making up his mind for him.

* * *

"Well hello darling, what can we help you with today?"

Alex retains her calm veneer, not letting on how afraid she really is. They're both huge, and scary, and neither seem to be shy about showing the interest they so obviously have for her. She cocks her hip, folding her arms in front of her and looks him directly in the eye, her brow lifting in an almost challenging gesture.

"I'm looking for someone," she says loudly, "she told me to meet her here."

"Ah, no need to go looking for someone. You got plenty of company right here, c'mon in and we'll show you a good time," the first man speaks again, his tone sultry and laced with a low growl.

"Tempting, but I'm in a hurry and I don't have time for games. Her name is Anna, where can I find her?"

Her tone noticeably surprises them, her complete disinterest in them striking a few nerves within their obviously swollen prides. They suddenly burst into laughter, the first man stepping forward and taking her by the arm roughly.

"It wasn't a question, babe, let's go."

"Thank you so much for keeping my girlfriend entertained until I got here," Keegan says calmly, a large smile present. "I'd hate for her to go in there on her own."

"Oh, hey Keegan." The second man speaks for the first time and motions for the other to step away from her. "I didn't know she was with you."

Keegan wraps his arm around Alex's shoulder as soon as he reaches her, smirking at the two men while leading her past them. "No problem guys, just point me in the right direction. Names Anna."

"Right, uh, she's towards the back… I think she's with someone though so be forewarned."

Keegan nods and leads Alex through the front gate, if you could call it that, the air and everything around them seeming to shift as soon as they do. She can feel her connection with her pack, and even Jeremy's, disappear along with most of her confidence. She peeks up at Keegan's face, his stony features delivering his thoughts on the whole thing clearly.

"Thanks… for saving me back-"

"Shut up. Don't talk, don't move too quickly, don't look at anyone, don't even breathe loudly. We're going to find your mother, give her the stupid pictures, and get the fuck out of here."

She flicks her gaze to the ground as he finishes his whispered directions, his harsh way of speaking giving her all the confirmation she needs to know that he's uncomfortable. She tries to remain silent, but her curiosity is suddenly reminding her a lot of Hailey's. Uncontrollable, and as Hailey described it, a lot like word vomit. "Why cant I feel my dad and the others anymore?" She whispers, keeping her eyes away from him.

"Because we're not on their land anymore, genius. You've carried us into someone else's territory where, even if they did find out where we were, they'd have no way to get us out. We came willingly, thanks to you anyway."

Alex cringes at the thought. "Great…"

Keegan pulls her through the crowded camp, past drunken fights and public displays of… sex? Not that she could tell. The light was dim and eerie, the only areas lit enough to see good being directly beside the fires that burned every few steps or so. He pulls his arm from around her and takes her hand, giving them both more room to quicken their already brisk pace, both now eager to get out of there. She could tell when they were nearing the back, the nauseating smell of sheer filth and maybe vomit penetrating her senses. The lights faded as they drew closer to the few tents scattered around the wood line, the pathetic pieces of cloth apparently expected to shield their inhabitants from the weather and whatever danger they may face. - She wouldn't put her faith in them.

Keegan halts suddenly, his nose turning up and face crinkling with disgust. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asks, noises from inside the tents now audible.

"Why? What do you hear?"

"You cant hear that?"

"No, I -"

Faint ruffling and a few indistinct mumbles pull their attention forward to the tent in the middle, the flaps pulling back to reveal a half naked Anna stumbling and tripping her way out into the dirt. She falls once, a loud grunt leaving her as she does so, and stands only to fall a second time; finally making it all the way out of her 'home'. She pulls herself to her knees and readjusts her tank top, covering her breasts and stomach that had, until that moment, been plainly visible. Keegan closes his eyes momentarily, feeling Alex's hand squeeze around his. Having very few recollections of having to deal with something like this, and what's to come after, he follows her obediently, still hand in hand, to where her mother is now struggling to get up. Alex surprisingly doesn't rush to her aid, nor does she emit any one emotion to a point that it's noticeable; she only stands and stares, unbelieving that this woman before her is in fact the woman that raised her.

"Anna?" Alex asks quietly, her head pulling back slightly when Anna reaches her feet and finds the two standing there.

"Oh Alex, you came!" Anna almost squeals, her voice dry and her words slurred. "And you brought a friend? Who is this? Is this Talon?"

"Mom… you've met Talon… this is Keegan."

He brought a hand up in an attempt to wave, but fell short with no willingness left in him to participate in what would only become a mess. She _was_ a mess. Her hair was disgusting, her body was covered in dirt. Her arms and legs were so skinny that, despite the layers of filth covering her, you could see her bones protruding shamelessly. She was littered with bruises and large cuts; some new, some healing. The bags beneath her eyes were so deep that they seemed more like dents, her once smooth face now haunted with wrinkles and scars. Her tongue moves to her lips, revealing the chapped and cracked skin that, at one point, was probably a lush pink; but is now a harsh brown. As if any of it was a surprise. It wasn't to him anyway, this is how they all looked. Not having many of them, Keegan was tempted to shoot the only 'I told you so' moment he'd had in what seemed like forever over to Alex before the guilt he'd surely feel for her after this was over settled in. Alex removed the envelope from her jacket pocket and held it out to Anna, her hands noticeably trembling.

"I thought you might like to have these… ya know… give you an idea of what's going on or whatever. I've missed you a lot, you should come visit more often. Jake said he didn't mind."

Alex's voice was quivering, everything she'd come in with shattered upon seeing this disheveled stranger she tried so hard to dub as her mom. Anna took the envelop and pulled the pictures from it, her smile fading upon seeing the contents. Keegan watched the white paper fall to the ground, followed by each picture she looked at when she was finished with them. He didn't dare look over to Alex, knowing all too well what he'd find. - They should have just went home.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

"Did you bring me any money?" Anna asks shortly, throwing the last of the pictures to the ground without bothering to look. "I asked you to bring me some."

Despite the horrid situation, Alex nods and pulls a twenty from her pocket, staring at it briefly before extending it. "This is all I could get. Maybe if you come over I can get you some more… like next week or something?"

"Twenty bucks?" Anna scoffs, snatching the bill. "I'm not stepping foot on that land. I'll send someone to pick it up when you have it ready, just send me a letter or something."

Alex yanks her hand from Keegan's when she sees Anna turn back for the tent, catching her arm and pulling her around. "Where are you going? I thought you wanted to see me?"

"I did. Now just let me know when you get that money, and make sure it's more than twenty next time. Things round here aint' cheap."

"That's all you wanted? I came all this way to see you and you're just going to take the money and leave?"

"I have things to do, darlin'. Now get out of here before someone notices you… you'll draw too much attention."

Keegan moves forward and pulls her back to him as another figure emerges from the tent, Adam, a distant Alpha, tossing up his recognition upon noticing them; his eyes catching slightly when he sees Alex.

"I know you," he says, wiping his brow. "You live over in La Push, right? One of the wolves daughters?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm Jared's daughter." She tries to remain friendly, her nerves suddenly getting the best of her as the larger man stands to his full height, a small smirk pulling at his lips.

"Well isn't that something? I'll bet they have no idea where you are… do they?"

She shifts uncomfortably as he moves slowly behind Anna, his eyes remaining fixed on her. Its now that the realization of it just being the two of them really hits her, the lack of communication and way out weighing heavy atop her need to remain steady. Her mom isn't even happy to see her. She barely seemed to recognize her. Their relationship suddenly doesn't seem as if it was worth all the trouble they're now in, her personal problems now spilling over to Keegan who, because of her, is involved in something that has nothing to do with him.

"Actually, they're waiting for us to get back." Keegan lies effortlessly, sliding his hand around her waist. "She just wanted to give Anna something… we should get going, they'll get worried."

"Wouldn't want that now would we?" Adam chuckles. "Although, her, I could see them making a fuss about…. But you? I'm sure you're well enough to take care of yourself…that would be the reason for your accompaniment on this little….quest?"

"I'm only here to be sure she makes it from A to B….that's all."

"It has nothing to do with your knowledge on this little….tragedy?" Adam pulls Anna's hair to the side, resting his chin on her exposed shoulder. "I would think she sought you out because she knew that you could offer insight…..insight that she would ignore of course…. But at least she'd have an idea of what to expect after hearing your warnings. If I'm mapping this out correctly, I'd say that you two are well on your own… and your connection has been broken."

"I need to get her back to her father now." Keegan grasps her hip tightly, pulling her to press against him. "Say goodbye Alex."

"Awe, don't leave so soon. I think mother and daughter need a little time to reconnect, don't you?" Adam's smile unnerves them both as the stares, awaiting their answer. "I find it so amusing that the daughter of a drug addicted whore….is also spawned from a respected member serving under none other than Jacob Black himself. How strangely some things turn out in the end, hmm? Perhaps this same daughter should get a taste from both sides?"

Alex's eyebrows draw in confusion, her eyes darting back and forth between Keegan and Anna. Her mother wasn't on drugs. Maybe a whore, but she had known her mother all her life and had never seen her touch anything outside of alcohol, - a lot of alcohol, mind you, but never drugs. She wouldn't do that… - would she?

"What's he talking about?" She whispers, now finding herself sinking further and further behind him.

"tsk, tsk, tsk." Adam moves around the side of her mom, taking her hand and pulling her back towards the tent. "They've left you in the dark, it seems. I suppose sometimes that's for the best though. Right Keegan? Maybe you can help her, you dealt with this for how long?"

"Six years."

"See sweetheart, you're not alone. Take his advice though. I'd hate to see you go through the same thing. You two should probably go now, wouldn't want to see any unnecessary attention drawn to you, would we?"

"No, sir." Keegan says, feeling Alex gripping the hem of his shorts tightly. "We're leaving."

"Be sure she doesn't make her way back here, or she and her mother will have a lot more in common than I'm sure she'd like to."

Keegan nods shortly before turning and pulling her back towards the front of the camp, her reluctance now beginning to frustrate him. She turns back to where her mom is still standing, still unwilling to accept that she no longer has the mother she's known her whole life. She stops walking, her eyes now brimmed with tears as Keegan continues to urge her forward, nothing he says registering as words as she watches Anna finish off a large bottle of something she doesn't recognize.

"Wait, I want to say goodbye.."

She snatches her arm away and runs, catching Anna's arm before she reenters the tent. "I just wanted to say-"

"Didn't you hear him?" Anna clips, brushing her hand away. "Nobody wants you here, so just go. I'm not your _mommy_. Go back to Jared and his bitch of a wife, that's where you belong anyway. I only kept you to keep my head. Tyrone is gone now, and I want you gone too."

As the first few tears spill over Alex is spared any further verbal assaults as she's pulled and led back to the front gate. The walk there seems inexistent as all sounds and movement disappear and her mind is fogged with her mother's words that are playing over and over again in her head. Jacob had been right, as usual, and had she listened to him, her heart may not have been suffocating inside her chest. They were all the same, even if not right away. Of that much she was now certain.

"Keegan," she breathes, "what am I supposed to do?"

He doesn't answer her, and as she follows his gaze, she feels her chest tighten further as a group of men huddle at the end of the pathway. They're all obnoxiously loud and, from what she can tell, seem to be drunk off their asses. Seems to be a trend around this place. Keegan slows them to a stop and moves to stand in front of her, pulling her face up in an attempt to make her look at him.

"So, you're going to follow me up to the gate….. I'm going to talk to them, and you're going to get out. That's all I can come up with so go with it. When you hit the woods, run, and don't look back. I'll meet you in that little clearing a mile from the second circuit. We'll figure out what to tell your dad from there."

"But I -"

"Kay, let's go."

He grabs her arm and pulls her roughly, approaching the group of men with seemingly no expression and passes through with ease, only being stopped when they notice Alex. One of the men ask him a question she cant understand through his slurred speech and directionless gaze, Keegan shoving her forward as they clear the small crowd. She can see the muscles tensing and flexing throughout his back and shoulders as he turns away from her, his shirtless torso seeming to expand as he stands to his full height. Her eyes flick to his hand that's discretely shooing her away towards the woods, nothing about him letting off anything but calm. She suddenly feels so guilty, thinking that he's about to stick up for her… - because of her.

"Keegan, come with me..," she hisses, waving him to her. "Just c'mon."

He clears his throat loudly and peeks over his shoulder. "Go ahead babe, I'll be right behind you."

She looks around at the men now staring in her direction, coy smirks now present at the corners of their mouths. The first step away from him is the hardest, everything after that almost a blur as she finally turns and strides to the trees, bursting into a sprint once she's past the first layer. A few feet in, she hears yelling, then something resembling a snarl. She stops, turning back to watch for him. He shouldn't be that far behind, - right? He'll come this way to meet her anyway, waiting would be sort of the same thing. Even through the burning need she feels to get away, she cant leave him. It doesn't feel right. Nothing feels right anymore.

* * *

**a/n. Confusing, I know. Don't ask, I cant explain. My muse has taken a turn for the more complicated… if that's possible…. But again, there's a point to everything, everything is connected, so just bare with me. **

**Thanks to everyone reading. This is a 2 parter, the 2****nd**** part will be up pretty quick. I've already started it and blah, blah. **

**Loves you guys. =) Leave me some reviews. **


	40. A Bit of Insight Pt 2

**It All Started With a Promise**

**By: Cucumber07**

**Chapter 40- A bit of insight pt2**

While understanding the severity of the situation, and knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that he shouldn't; Keegan still couldn't stop the small smile tugging playfully at both corners of his mouth. Sensing the precise moment when the conversation was to shift, his inner most instincts had instantly put his body on guard, yet his mind was intriguingly unconcerned. He'd given Alex plenty of time to get as far away as needed with the few drunken idiots that stood before him, cursing and ranting about the escaped entertainment they had so hoped for. He couldn't have predicted her lingering presence just past the wood line, but as one of the four slowly began making his way in that direction, there was no doubt that she hadn't followed his instructions; no matter how clear he thought he'd made them.

"So, where'd your girlfriend go?" The larger of the men bellowed, hunching over in an attempt to place his beer bottle on the ground. He seemed to only succeed in furthering his hindered balance. "It's really a shame… you letting her walk around in the woods all alone like this. I'd hate for something to happen to her."

"Well, she's pretty capable of handling herself, but you're right. I should be catching up." His smile widens while he speaks, the other man still slowly creeping his way behind him.

"Of course…"

There is a small moment of silence, even with the hysterical and verging on irritating snickers still being emanated from the small group, none seeming to even notice Keegan's slow but steady movement. Once he notices the once creeping figure now making a dash for the trees, he's torn between two impulses that have been seemingly inexistent throughout his entire time within his pack. Never one to run towards danger, yet, taught never to run away; a complicated tug of war that now has his head close to pounding as he stills in an attempt to make a decision. A grunt of frustration escapes him as he runs his hands down his face and lets out a humorless chuckle, shaking his head before turning and following the only one of the four that seem to notice Alex's scent still hovering like a fog just inside the forest. Staying true to what he predicted, the others stand still in a moment of confusion before half heartedly chasing after him. His head start is more than enough and although the urge to just continue running and leave Alex to fend for herself, his mind more than content with the 'she did it to herself' scapegoat, he again falls victim to the feelings he's somehow managed to hang onto throughout the life he's led.

As soon as he's past the trees he can almost pinpoint where she is, the easy trail she's left all but begging someone to come find her. It's annoying, really, now pretentious and arrogant these girls seem to be. None follow direction, none think they are ever wrong… and they all seem to have a knack for getting him into trouble. Speaking only from the two he's had the pleasure of dealing with of course. He passes her without hesitation, his eyes able to process the moment she's joined by their 'friend', as he finds a suitable area for him to phase unnoticed. Their voices are muffled as he strips and stores his clothes, neither of them audible through the cracking and jerking of his body as he tries to make it a quick process. - Quick and painful, it seemed. When he feels his front paws hit the dirt, he's immediately at home. His mind is quiet without the bombarding of two packs he's had to grow accustomed to after lifting the borders, the silence unnerving him as he begins to creep his way back to the small opening Alex is currently residing. She doesn't phase for whatever reason, and her reluctance to defend herself only furthers Keegan's frustration with the situation. As if she hasn't done enough damage to herself, she'd stand by and allow this staggering retard to maul her. - He's sure he'll never understand them.

As he approaches her from behind, he lets out a small yap to get her attention, her head snapping to him as soon as she hears it. The fear he sees in her face surprises him. Sure they were in a bit of a predicament but it wasn't as if ….

"Just come on with us, love. It'll make things so much easier."

With the word 'us' now thrown into the mix, Keegan's eyes quickly find the others already phased and sobered circling the small area. They're much larger than he would have expected given their average looking human forms. Although he actually preferred to avoid conflict with other wolves, especially older and larger ones, it didn't appear that there was any other options at this point. He can feel a small bubble of anger begin to build thinking of how he got here and why he was probably about to get the shit kicked out of him. There had to be something wrong with him. Since his mother's permanent departure, he hadn't so much as thought about breaking any rules. Now though, it seemed that was all he did. A price it seemed he had to pay for a friendship, well, friendship_s_, he'd never thought there would be a desire for.

Alex continued to look at him, waiting for instructions she hoped he'd be able to give somehow. With the limited options he possessed, Keegan threw his head in the direction they came in and grunted for her to go. Did he wish she would stay and help him maybe _not_ die? Of course. The only problem he had with asking that of her, was what would happen if she should be killed or injured, and what her father would do when they returned home. What _his_ father would do. His night, it seemed, had gone from one extreme to the other in a matter of a few hours. And now he's throwing himself to the wolves. Literally.

She doesn't need to be told twice this time. The situation has now entered a region she's beyond uncomfortable with, and should they detain or kill Keegan, she didn't want to be around for the aftermath. Telling her father or Jacob was out of the question at this point, and even if she did, they wouldn't get there in time to do anything for the young wolf that's now proving to be much better a person than she'd originally thought even possible for someone like him. Her experience with them has led her to believe they're all the same, yet, here's Keegan; proving Jacob correct once again. She backs away slowly, her eyes flicking from Keegan to the other wolves now entering through the trees. The larger of the four blows a large breath from his snout, baring his teeth in warning to the two teens that he's sure know much better than to provoke them. To his surprise however, instead of backing down or away, the black and brown wolf that had once seemed much smaller than him, now stands at full height and matches him, if not exceeds him, in size. Alex stumbles backwards until her hand is able to find a large, broken stump to help her regain her balance where she stays put for a short moment.

In a form very familiar to her, the four force Keegan to the middle and begin to circle him slowly, their bodies crouched and on edge. Seeing them this way seems almost second nature as she finds all the tale tell signs of an attack. Keegan barks loudly, pulling her from her own internal struggle, his head again being thrown to the trail in another attempt to get her to leave. This time, she nods, finding no other way to be of any help other than phasing herself; which may have been more of a hindrance to him than anything else. So with one last glance in his direction, her mind still boggled at just how big he is, she turns and runs. She runs with a speed she didn't know she possessed until her legs are literally numb and her arms are burning from the movements. When she's sure she's reached the borders that they hadn't realized they passed before, she lets her body fall to the ground without slowing up and crashes into the dirt with an audible thud. Her breath is ragged, each gust of wind from her mouth blowing small portions of dirt and hair from her face as she tries desperately to slow her heartbeat. Feeling as if her chest is going to explode from the pressure, she sits up and grasps at it, holding tightly to the strap of her tank top as she tries to control her now heaving breaths. It goes on like this for what seems like hours, the true time eluding her without a watch or phone. Just as she's beginning to think she's regained some sort of rhythm and peace of mind, her eyes dart upward to find a figure emerging from the trees.

She scrambles to her feet and backs away quickly, running into a large tree after only a few steps. Her breath runs wild all over again while she waits silently for two different parties that will more than likely kill her. The men, because they can. Keegan, because he's more than likely pissed at her for getting him into this mess. Either way, the confrontation is unwelcome. She's had enough excitement for one night and is fairly unsure of how much more she can handle. The figure stops just short of the faint moonlight hitting a very remote spot in front of her, the sound of movement gone from the forest completely, it seemed.

"Keegan?" She whispers.

With her voice, a loud groan is heard, and Keegan pushes through the last remaining brush separating them. She grimaces upon seeing him, his face and body both baring matching bruises and cuts. The guilt that had washed over her before returns while watching him limp over to her, his hand holding tightly to his right thigh. She offers a small smile, sheepishly pushing herself from the tree. Receiving only a frown in return.

"Happy now?" He bites, turning for home.

"Not really… I didn't mean for any of -"

"I warned you," he yells, turning back to her. "I told you like five times before we even went in that it was a bad idea! Did you listen? Of course you didn't. None of you listen. Why would you? You don't have rules, you don't have limitations. You do whatever you want because you're 'special', right? Well if _that_," - he throws his hand in the direction they'd come from - "is what it takes to keep you guys happy, then fuck it. I don't want anything to do with it."

Alex cringes as his voice continues to raise with each word, the finalization she hears in his tone making her stomach turn. As if sensing who he's really referring to when addressing the happy bit, a small tinge of jealousy washes over her for the smallest of moments as his eyes tear her limb from limb awaiting her response.

"Why do you like her so much?" She asks quietly. "I mean… what could have possibly made you like her so much that you'd do everything you've done… just to be in the same room with her?"

The surprise on his face almost forces her to smile as his head draws back and his features crumple. "What are you talking about?"

She laughs. "C'mon, don't be stupid. You know _who_ I'm talking about."

He runs a hand through his dark, shaggy hair before dropping his head. "She's just… different I guess… I don't know. I cant explain it. It's nothing like imprinting is supposed to be I don't think.. She drives me crazy. In an annoying, childish, stubborn, pig headed and self serving sort of way. So I don't think I did…yet, she's always on my mind. It's so aggravating."

The jealousy remains as she processes his words. Why it's there she has no idea since she's involved with Talon… sort of. But the idea of Hailey with him grinds her nerves to dust, making it hard not to down the attempted relationship. Would Jacob allow it? - Probably. There didn't seem to be anything he'd deny his children, even when he knows it'll cause him more trouble. Although Jared was that way too, the fact that Hailey had both mother and father, both of such great character, seemed to fuel the sudden envy she held towards the other she wolf. It was wrong, because they were supposed to be good friends, but despite that knowledge, it remained.

"You know it'll never work right?" She says too smugly. "I mean, she's nothing like you for one thing. Plus she has to carry on the Alpha gene. Jacob would never allow it."

Keegan's eyes narrow as he takes a step forward, Alex's intentions on bringing up the subject suddenly seeming shady. "For one thing, you don't know me. And what Jacob will or wont allow is up to him and I'm pretty sure you have no clue what that decision will be. Nor what it's based on. If you want to get technical, I'm supposed to be Alpha after Jeremy, so I have that same gene, smartass."

"Well either way she wont let it go on for long," she says defensively. "You're nothing like her other boyfriends and she wont accept who you really are. What you really are. I know already, I've seen it. I've seen you, the real you. She wont understand you, she cant possibly."

Sensing what the subject has turned to, Keegan relaxes and folds his arms, turned partially in the direction they're about to head. "I don't want her to accept me, if you must know. I want her to change me."

Unsure of what brought about the sudden hostility towards his personal business with Hailey, he ends the conversation by turning and beginning the walk back to Jacob's. They've been gone far too long, and he's sure that everyone is freaking out about Alex's absence. Jeremy would be freaking out about his too, only for a different reason. Either he missed patrols or wasn't there when John needed someone to do his job for him, something along those lines. Either way it wasn't because he was worried about his well being. That's something a real father would do, a real friend, a real Alpha. Not Jeremy. He wasn't any of those things. Even in the weakest of forms.

The rest of the trip is taken in silence, Alex keeping a few feet behind him at all times. The awkward air between them is heavy now that she's made an ass out of herself, she knows she shouldn't have said anything. But the answer he gave did nothing for what she was feeling. Could she change him the way he wanted if they were together? Would she be able to give him what he wanted? - No. She wasn't anything like what he wanted. Not because Hailey was more beautiful or smarter or had a better personality. Deep down she knew the real reason he liked her, and it all came down to where they were raised. He wanted her because she was nothing like him, she knew nothing of the life he led or the horrors they were faced with. She couldn't relate or compare stories, only empathize. That's what he wanted, because she could make him forget. She really could change him; and for that, Alex was painfully resentful. Being raised in the same environment was truly the one thing that came between them. Being friends was a possibility, but anything more and he'd turn her away. Just like he did all the others that asked for a moment of his time. Although she hadn't really even had time to develop feelings for the man walking in front of her, the fact that, because of where she's from, he'd never give it a chance irked her to her very core. It was one more to add to a long list of things that were ruined by her family and where she's from.

As they approached the house, a large crowd was immediately noticeable inside. Probably the entire pack and family, adding Jeremy and John. Keegan groaned loudly, the thought of questions and having to answer almost unbearable. He couldn't deny it, his current physical state was enough proof that something happened, he just wasn't sure what Alex wanted to reveal. Although she was obviously a little messed up by the whole thing, it was still her business, and not his to tell. If he had to lie, God forbid, he probably would. Turning and looking at her only made matters worse. Her eyes were red rimmed and her hair was disheveled, her arms and chest dirt ridden while her clothes were caked in filth from the forest and probably the brief contact she'd had with that camp. He stopped a few feet from the door leading into the kitchen, waiting for her to give him some sort of direction. This sort of thing was well out of his expertise.

"We'll just flow with it I guess," she whispered. "They're going to be pissed so lets leave out the camp and.. Well everything. I'll just say I asked you to patrol with me and I got us lost?"

Even as dumb as it sounded, he nodded his agreement. It wouldn't work, that much was simple. They would question and interrogate both of them until they figured out what really happened, but it was her family, her secret, and he'd keep it if she asked. Even as his stomach and chest screamed their protests, he followed her up to the door and inside behind her. The glares they both received were record worthy as they slowly eased their way in, Keegan immediately meeting Jeremy with a sheepish grin. Was it possible to actually _feel_ the anger rolling off someone? He was beginning to think so as he noticed every single member of their pack piled into their Alpha's home, all silently demanding an answer. When Alex remained silent, Keegan gently pushed her to the side and stepped forward, looking only to Jacob when he spoke. His tensed frame was overly intimidating, even from all the way across the room. He chest and shoulders rigid, and his face hardened, he leaned forward to urge Keegan on. He would hear him out,_ then_ decide who he was going to scream at.

"Listen, uh, she asked me to patrol with her and somehow we-"

"Don't," Alex interrupted, stepping forward. "This is all my fault. Don't… - don't be angry with him, he was only trying to help me. I went to find my mom after she sent me this letter… I was worried… so he went with me to make sure that I made it back okay and… I ended up getting him in a lot of trouble. I'm so sorry, it wont happen again. She's gone so it's not like it matters anymore."

Keegan's eyes shifted to the ceiling to avoid all of the pained gazes he was sure they'd both receive in the next ten seconds or so. - long enough for what that meant to sink into those who knew about everything. When everyone remained silent, he bravely looked back to them, and wished he hadn't as soon as he caught sight of what he'd been avoiding for the past few years. Jeremy had never offered any sympathy when he went through this with his mother, and seeing what people do when they actually care only made his wounds burn that much more. It was beginning to feel as if they'd only just been inflicted, as if it had only happened tonight, or a few days ago. He could feel his chest beginning to tighten as thoughts and eyes began to pry their way past his exterior. This wasn't something he wanted to discuss. Ever. Not with anyone.

"You went to a camp?" Jared asked quietly, the concern he was feeling evident in his soft tone. "What did you find?"

Alex flicked her gaze to Keegan whose rapidly hardening face gave her enough to know that he didn't want to be involved. Not that she blamed him. Bringing up his past scars because she was too stupid to listen to him wasn't fair in any sense, although she wanted nothing more than to share this with someone. He understood. Nobody else could. Yet, he was the least willing to participate.

"Anna," she said dryly. "Look, it was stupid for me to go there. It was stupid for me to drag him with me and get him involved. I get it alright and I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Alex, I know that it's hard but it's not something you can just get over… you really should tal-"

Knowing what he was about to say, what he was about to try and get out of her, she immediately shook her head and braced herself behind Keegan's shoulder. "Just stop! There's nothing to talk about! I'm not going to stand in front of all these people and bare my feelings about my drug-addicted _whore_ of a mother, alright! I don't need this shit right now so just leave it alone!"

Keegan allowed his eyes to close for a fraction of a second as she exploded all of her current frustrations against his arm. Why she had such a tight grip on him, as if he could do anything to help her, was beyond him. He was merely the middle man at this point. Standing between sympathetic family members and a teenage girl that wanted to be left alone. Not a great place to be in his opinion.

"Sweetie," Sue spoke up. "I know that it's a painful subject… I do. But you cant let this fester beneath whatever pride you feel you need to keep in place. We're your family, and we want to help you. I'm sure that Keegan can-"

"Alright, so this has been fun but I really think I should be going." Keegan removed himself from Alex quickly and turned for the door, beyond unwilling to participate in this strange group therapy session they were about to begin. She grabbed his arm before he could take three steps.

"Wait," she whispered. "Stay for a while, please?"

He flinched away from her hand, his head shaking defiantly before she could even finish what she was saying. "I'm sorry, Alex, really. About everything. It sucks, believe me, I know. But this" - he motions to the awaiting group - "isn't me. I honestly don't have it in me to sit around and talk about something like my mother. It's done, over with. I don't need to relive it."

"Keegan is right," Jeremy interrupts, pushing himself from the wall. "He has no business being involved with your personal matters. He knows nothing of what you speak because everything to do with his mother was a mistake. He made a lot of them on her count. I hope you learn from this and follow in his footsteps. Put it behind you. It's better off there and so you will be as soon as you accept that." He moves briskly to the door and past his son who seems utterly stunned by his small speech. "Jacob, I'll see you in twenty four hours. Goodnight everyone." He opens the door and halts just outside. "Keegan, I expect to see you before day break. We have business to attend to."

With a curt click of the door, the room fell silent. Alex's eyes stayed glued to her un-friend that still seemed to be in shock standing beside the door. Had she not known better, she'd have thought she saw a small flicker of hurt cross his dark irises before they glazed over once more. A small shimmer of pain that was so quick in passing, but so strong in will that she almost thought it to be unmistakable. Had she not known better, of course.

"Guys, you've had a long night," Jared huffs, running a hand through his hair. "Let's say we call it that and we'll talk about this later. It's late."

Alex nodded but continued to watch Keegan, determined to find something resembling an emotion to play off of when thinking of what happened. She received nothing. Only a blank stare that was so perfectly crafted and so strategically placed, she may have thought it was the only one he knew. The only look he ever wore. Had she not seen him around Hailey before and seen first hand the tender and almost sweet look he had about him, she would have believed just that. - Hailey. Where was she?

Alex turned back to the group that was awaiting her confirmation, none of them stirring the slightest in case she changed her mind about not wanting to talk. Nosey, you could call it, but it was all birthed from concern for the young girl. Many of them knew about pain and loss, but only a few when it came to that of a close parent. She ignored their understanding eyes as she sought out the cause of her suddenly inflamed envy. Finally spotting her, she cursed the emotions she saw lining her features. The concern and calm that mixed and made her seem so inviting. Keegan would surely fall to it if she presented herself to him. If she offered him comfort. Why, though? Why not she who could understand, who could share the same feelings and emotions? It didn't make sense.

"Alex?" Jared prodded, confused by her pointed glare. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, uh… yeah. Bye everyone… sorry again." She shakes her head quickly and gives Keegan a brief nod before following Kim, Jared and Clair through the front door.

Watching her, Keegan was even more confused with her behavior than before. The strange hostility she suddenly held for whatever 'friendship' he possessed with Hailey now making him truly curious to the cause. Jealousy didn't make any sense. They'd barely spoken, even before now. Sure he remembered her from her reservation years before and had exchanged a few conversations in passing from time to time but none of it held anything but politeness for someone offering small talk. Come to think of it, he couldn't recall ever talking to her for more than five minutes at a time until….

"Are you alright?"

He blinked at Jacob's loud but genuine tone, his mind traveling back to the present and reminding him of his wounds. They were of no concern. "Yeah, just a few scratches."

"Scratches? Humph," Sue grunted, standing and crossing the room to retrieve a large box full of medical supplies. "Sit down… go on…" She urged, his reluctance doing nothing to deter her.

His entire body on edge, he does as he's told and sits at the kitchen table. He can feel the room beginning to clear out whatever awkward tension it held moments before, and as they all begin to relax, Jacob dismisses them couple by couple. With his mind honed in on the stinging and burning of whatever Sue is placing over his wounds, he doesn't notice the now empty room save Jacob and his. Talon doesn't say a word as he and Hailey sit side by side on the couch, both of their minds seemingly elsewhere as Leah watches Jacob for some sort of clue as to what he's going to do. There's nothing to be done really. Alex more than likely talked the kid into it, and got him into a mess that had nothing to do with him. He deserved no more punishment than she did. Curiosity about her mother's whereabouts was inevitable and everyone knew she'd rather die than come to one of them for help. Alex's uncomfortable standpoint within their 'family' was all but concealed and she never was good at hiding her distaste with 'family' affairs. She's now aware of what's become of her mother, and Keegan probably saved her life. There was nothing else to be said.

"Thanks Keegan," Jacob breathed heavily while stretching. "For looking out for her I mean. Guess she just had to learn the hard way. Nobody around here seems to listen."

Leah and the twins cringed at the truth in his words, and the slightly bitter tinge it held. It was becoming morbidly clear that the up and coming youth they have produced held no more regard for authority than they did. Jacob, despite his wish for difference, knew that it had probably been silently and unintentionally passed through to them. Either by their actions or just purely by their genes. Tammy hadn't been pleasant to speak with, but her words held a certain truth that even Jacob couldn't ignore. Of course he hated authority, he _was_ the authority. For most of his time as Alpha he's led and commanded almost every pack within their region and had nobody telling him different. Nobody challenged him, nobody disliked his way of doing things. Until now that is. The timing still sat sourly with him even hours later.

"No problem," Keegan said. "She was pretty hell bent on going. With or without me."

Jacob chuckled. "I don't doubt it. How much trouble'd she get ya in?"

Keegan grimaced as Sue continued to pat roughly at the larger of the bites, ignoring his crumpled face completely. "Depends on what your idea of trouble is. If four on one is trouble, then I got a lot of it."

"I'm not going to ask how you got out of that," Jacob teased.

"Good, cause I'm not really looking forward to sharing it."

Jacob snorted, shaking his head slightly before looking to Leah. His annoyance with her and Embry's little exchange behind his back had died down a great deal. He still wanted to know, of course, but was really too tired to bother with an interrogation. Especially at this hour. He was exhausted and hurt, and wanted nothing more than his bed that was sweetly calling to him from upstairs. With that thought, he stood. His balance was still off a tad, the slight wobble upon the upright movement eliciting a small growl as he forced his body to comply with what he was doing. He didn't motion for her to follow, or linger to see if she was going to, he only nodded towards Keegan, said goodnight to the twins, and continued on his way.

With him gone, the room fell completely silent. Only the sound of their breathing was heard over the ripping of tape and small hisses leaving Keegan while Sue finished up her small doctor job and, without another word, left for home. As the front door slowly clicked closed none of the four remaining inhabitants made a move. Instead, all their eyes remained glued to the hardwood for what the clocked dubbed to be at least ten minutes, none even thinking of speaking. It didn't feel awkward, no, more like a small break, it seemed. Leah before she had to go deal with Jacob who had unfortunately caught on to she and Embry's little chat behind his back, and to her dismay, was quite angry about it. Especially after both of them froze guiltily when confronted. Talon and Hailey were still unsure of what to think about Alex's situation, and about her strange attitude. Keegan, poor kid, was just ready to leave. Unfortunately, though, he knew better than to think he was going to get off so easily. Jacob may have let him go, but as soon as Hailey's gaze flicked upward and met his, he knew he was stuck.

"Well…..thanks for bringing her home, Keegan. I'm headed to bed so if you need anything just help yourself." Leah rose and turned for the stairs. "Goodnight guys."

He counted the seconds it took for her to reach her room and for the door to close quietly behind her. As if on cue, both Hailey and Talon rose at the same time and all but ran to the kitchen table. Talon at the head, and Hailey in front of him, he waited patiently for one of them to speak. He was sure their questions were plenty, but his answers were not, and he felt the fleeting need to tell them that before they started. But of course, that was crushed as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Why did she come to you?" Talon asked first, his eyes stabbing the table with the discomfort he surely felt. "No offense or anything but I just was under the impression that she didn't know you very well. She _said_ she didn't know you very well."

Although Talon's emotionally ridden face and tense stature was amusing, Hailey's quiet and un-obnoxious one was not. She was never quiet. Never calm. Never collected. If anything the girl reminded him of those old battery commercials with the bunny. She just kept going and going and…

"Keegan?"

"Yeah, sorry," he grumbled, shaking his head. "She said you guys weren't as familiar with the lands as I am. She was right, the place was off in the middle of nowhere. I barely found it myself."

"And she was looking for her mother?"

"Yep," he popped the 'p' loudly, looking away from the two. "And she found her alright. I tried to warn her… over and over again. She, of course, wouldn't listen to a damn thing I said."

"Was her mom okay?" Hailey's soft voice surprised him even more so than her calm energy. "I mean she was safe and everything, right?"

Keegan felt his stomach beginning to turn all over again, for what seemed like the thousandth time that night. "No, not really. I mean she was alive, if that's what you mean but I wouldn't put my faith in seeing her a few months from now in the same condition. Those places don't do much for one's health."

Talon winced. "How'd she take it?"

"Which one?" Keegan half laughed. "Her mom wanted money, Alex wanted her mom. Anna got what she wanted and sent her packing. Again, exactly like I told her she would. Basically, it was a waste of her time. She's gonna be all depressed and upset now because her mom doesn't want anything to do with her, nothing she says or does can change it. My advice, keep her distracted. Letting her sit and mope is just going to make it worse."

Hailey shifted slightly and sighed. "Is that what you did?" She raised a brow. "To keep your mind off of it I mean?"

For the first time in his life, he almost felt guilty about lying. Almost. The subject was beyond personal and his choosing to keep it hidden didn't seem so wrong in his eyes. Maybe keeping it from her was sort of wrong. It shouldn't have felt that way. Not in the least. He'd known her for such a short time and didn't feel right allowing her to have such a weight on his decisions. It made him extremely uncomfortable to think that he'd have done something specifically for her that he hadn't even done for his best friend. His best friend that _still_ didn't know his mother was alive, only what happened with her. That little bit of knowledge was only with him because he was in the pack during that time and had no choice but to hear and see it all.

Nah, lying to her was okay. This time.

"I didn't have a choice in how to handle it once Jeremy found out," he said sternly. "How I dealt with it on my own was childish and Jeremy wouldn't allow it. My mother was a vindictive, manipulative bitch that seemed to draw pleasure from watching me suffer. I was too young and too stupid to see it. If there's one thing I have to thank him for, it's getting me away from her."

"She's your mother, that should be your decision," she argued.

"Mhmm, my decision to give her every dime I have to my name and trance around other's lands and break laws to get her another ounce of this or another six pack of that. At fourteen-fifteen years old, I shouldn't have had to make those decisions for myself."

An uncomfortable silence hung over the three as they all averted their gazes from each other. With the way the conversation was going, Keegan figured now would be a good time to cut his losses and head out. Both of them seemed distracted and barely aware of his presence as it was until he spoke, and even then they're eyes were overcast. Distant.

"Well, I got to get going. I -"

"Talon could you give us a second?" Hailey interrupted, turning her head to her brother.

To Keegan's utmost surprise, Talon nodded and stood. "I'm going to bed. Holler if you need me."

The air seemed to thicken with the absence of their buffer, making what was uncomfortable, now seem unbearable as Hailey turned back to face him. Her eyes were no longer shaded, but full, and immediately found his. The confidence was unbelievable. _Arrogance is more like it_. He thought to himself as she began tapping the table with her finger. He half expected her to begin a parade of questions about his mother and why he lied. No, he _did_ expect it. In a record breaking event, she surprised him yet again. There were no questions or accusations or odd stares, she only watched him for a moment, her eyes genuinely soft. It was much appreciated given the days events. She stood and offered him her hand, half her body turned to the living room.

"Help me lock up?" She asks, smiling.

"What about the others? What if they need..-"

She giggled. "They all have keys. C'mon."

He places his hand in her palm, then stood and followed her around the house while she checked the windows and all the doors. She was silent through the whole of the small journey, yet again bringing a confused wrinkle to his features. What was she up to now? Whatever it was he was sure it would have him running for cover come morning. As she finished up her inspection she turned to him and smiled, keeping his hand tight and leading him down the hallway to what he assumed to be her room. Confirming his thoughts that she would, in fact, be getting him in trouble very soon, he stopped short of the frame.

"Hailey…. Not a good idea," he breathes while looking around. It wasn't so much the fact that it was her room and that once he entered he probably wouldn't be able to leave, but the knowledge that her brother slept next door, her father above, and who knows how many surrounding the house. All of them with pricked ears he was sure, knowing he was still present.

"It's alright. Gah you're such a girl sometimes. Chill out a little. Trust me, they know where you are. They _always_ know where I am… and always where you are when you're around."

He grinned slightly at that, knowing it was true to the fullest. He nodded shortly before following her in, the door somehow finding it's way closed behind him. It was dark, but still so bright somehow. The colors were visible even with no light, the accents that spoke so true to her character widening his grin. She was most defiantly loud, and obnoxious. Yet, still warm beneath all the craziness she put off day to day. It reminded him so much of Jacob, and Leah from what he'd seen. He doubted anyone outside the pack really knew them. Past the walls and decorated details they allowed people to see, there was always something else. Something deeper. It was a really good defense tactic when he thought it over. All these distractions and pretty colors to keep your eyes and mind away from what's really there. Brilliant, really.

Hailey cleared her throat, stopping him from being nosey and pulling his attention back to her. She was seated on the bed, her legs criss-crossed in front of her with her hands limp between them. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail that had made it's way to the side of her head from wear, both small and large strands falling all around her head and face. Whatever makeup she'd had on for whatever reason was now smeared at the corners of her eyes and underneath them, her tank top and shorts both wrinkled and twisted. He wanted to laugh, the sound catching in his throat as he moved to sit beside her. It was obvious that he was uncomfortable, his palms pressed to the bed at his sides and rigid upper body were vivid reminders of how much he hated situations such as these. Hailey only chuckled while watching him, her intentions being nothing but innocent on this occasion. As hard as it was to believe for everyone, even herself, it was the truth.

"If you're going to ask me a million questions about what happened and how it involved me, I'd appreciate you saving it. I'm not really in the mood to talk."

She rolled her eyes as she took his arm and pulled him to the pillows, her head falling a few inches from his. "I have no interest in talking. I'm tired. Just go to sleep."

Her smile was enough to bring out one of his own as he watched her almost teasing expression taunt him loudly in the silence that rang after she spoke. He wanted to argue with her, but that would involve talking, and neither of them wanted that apparently. Though he was still having a hard time believing that on her end. Still, he complied and pulled the covers over them, settling himself into the unbelievably comfortable pillow. Just as his eyes closed, he felt her move closer, her head now resting on his arm.

"I'd like to think the pillow much more comfortable than my arm, hmm?"

He wanted to roll his eyes at how groggy he sounded. God, he was tired, and only just now realizing it. Though, tired was true to many meanings, this he knew for a fact. Being physically tired, emotionally tired and mentally tired are three very different things. All three of them had weighed him down for quite some time now, none of them seeming to be appeasable.

"But not near as warm," she whispered. There was no need to look at her, he could see the smile very clearly in her words. Against his will, and better judgment, he laughed. It seemed like such a foreign sound. Like he hadn't heard it in years. Maybe it was more the sincerity he heard. Like the first truth he's released in what seemed like forever.

Before he could protest, she was everywhere. Her legs were tangled up in his, her arms, her hair, her stomach, her chest, her face….

"You're too tense, I swear," she chided. "Relax a little, huh? I mean everyone knows you're here, we're doing _nothing_ wrong….would it kill you to calm down some?"

"Shut up," he barked, still smiling. "I'm going to sleep."

"You could always phase and go sleep outside," she teased. "I'm sure the ground is so much better than this bed?"

"Uh, no thanks. I'm not phasing until I know they're all gone. My pack was going insane earlier. I couldn't understand anything they were saying. Arguing. Agreeing. Disagreeing. Something about 'Jeremy's decision' and it being made too soon… I don't know, it was weird."

"Then I suggest you show some appreciation and enjoy it while you have it," she continued her small joke.

"Goodnight, Hailey."

A smile still on his face, he peeked down and caught her lips the moment they made movement. Call it instinct, call it stupidity. He was completely content in this small moment. Though it wasn't likely to last, it was something. One useful thing he'd learned from Jacob Black; 'Take what you can get and cherish it because it will more than likely be gone in the morning. Holding back is pointless unless you truly want to go the rest of your life not knowing what it would have been like.' So as he pulled away and went to sleep, he allowed her small 'Goodnight Keegan' to ring in his ears until he was no longer able to process day to day words, and instantly replaced it with dreams of the future. Bleak, dark, yet somehow enchanting. Her memory pulsing through his veins as the last thing he'd seen, heard, felt; it almost seemed okay.

* * *

**a/n. I know, late as hell. My daughter was sick and in the hospital… then impossible to deal with once she had to start taking medicine.. It sucked. But she's better now and my schedule has gone pretty much back to normal. My internet has been down the past few days so all these updates have been mostly finished and waiting until it was fixed. Fml. Anyway, please review… gimmey a welcome back! Lol. **

**Loves to all you readers and reviewers. **

**And to my favorite WILF girls… Kei, Ses, Hilja… love dears. **


	41. Stories and Lies

**It All Started With a Promise**

**By: Cucumber07**

**Chapter 41- Stories and Lies. **

_Jealousy is both reasonable and belongs to reasonable men, while envy is base and belongs to the base. For one makes himself get good things by jealousy, while the other does not allow his neighbor to have them through envy._

_- Aristotle. _

Leah sits silently on her bed, staring blankly at her fingers that are resting in her lap. The room is completely still, and unusually dark. She can hear the rain pounding on the roof over the hum of the fans, low thunder seeming to rumble through the floor boards. It should be a comfortable day. The tapping of the rain drops and comforting dreariness would normally have her curled up in bed with her favorite movie on, a large bucket of popcorn sitting in between she and Talon as they lazily made their way through the day. She should be smiling, excited, happy. There should be a plan in motion on how to break the news to Jacob, how to tell him that he gets another chance. They all really get a second chance. But there was no plan. There was no excitement or giddy expectations about what was going to happen. Only dread. Jacob's move to better himself was only thinly held, and difficult to keep up. She could see him faltering, willing himself to give way to the default emotions and ways of handling things. It was a constant battle. He was at war. With himself, with his past, with the present. Everyone around him looked to him, waited for him, and the weight was unbelievably visible to her. As if his shoulders literally hunched under it, the burdens so potent that nothing could deter his mind from them. Throwing something so large on top of it all just didn't seem like the best idea. She was almost positive he'd be happy about it, but the tiny shred of possibility that it would add stress to an already stressful situation was too risky. Once he was home from the meeting with the High Council, she'd find a way to address it. Once he was at ease and in a peaceful place, without immediate danger, she would tell him.

For now, it would be she and Embry's little secret. Just as his imprint would remain a secret as long as he wanted it to be. Of course, their secrets differed greatly. In weight and proportion. The consequences if they were found out would be quite dramatic. And probably unfavorable. Even so, this is what she thought was best. And she was going to stick with it. Releasing a loud breath of air, she throws the covers aside and pushes herself from the bed. The hardwood was freezing. The light padding of her feet was almost silent, even to her, as she pushed the half open door out of her way and moved for the stairs. During her decent, voices rang from the kitchen. They were quiet, cautious, obviously attempting to keep the conversation to themselves. It was only when she reached the last few steps that she recognized the voices. Jacob huffed loudly, his chair creaking under his weight as he shifted. His exasperated tone forced her to peek around, finding Keegan in one of the chairs closest to her, facing the back door but his face still visible, and Jacob at the head, facing her. Their faces seemed grim, troubled. Feeling slightly guilty for hovering during their conversation, she lifts her foot and moves to make a noise, make her presence known, but is halted by Jacob's next words.

"What happened with your mother?" He asked softly, his eyes fixed on the table. "I know what Jeremy told me, but what _really_ happened."

His question startled her. More so than Keegan, it seemed, whose expression remained stony and cold. Everything in her was screaming for her to move, for her to either go back upstairs or let them know she was here. But as she did so, her foot hitting the floor loud enough to alert them, neither moved. She watched Keegan, waiting for him to dodge the question, use her as an out, but he only offered her a small smile and returned his gaze to whatever distant focal point he'd been using. His head tilted to the side, his eyes glazing over slightly as memories began flooding his mind. She could almost _see_ him reliving every moment in question, and she wondered almost angrily what Jacob's motives were for bringing up such subjects.

"My mom was like… my best friend," he began quietly, his fingers absentmindedly picking at the edge of the table. "When I was younger, a kid I guess, she treated me like I figure any parent would treat their child. She played with me, taught me things, took me places, bought me things. I started school and she always made me breakfast, packed my lunch, walked me to the bus stop. I can remember always being excited to go home because I knew she'd have one of my favorite snacks waiting. She'd lay it out on the table for me to eat while I did my homework. I'd always make her help me. Her voice always made concentrating easier."

He paused, a bitter smile pulling at his lips. "Jeremy was never around. I knew he was my dad, and he'd come by every once in a while to check up on my mom. Even then, when I didn't know any better, I hated him. He'd come in the house and everything was suddenly his. All the warmth and comfort I remembered being there everyday would disappear. I would hear her crying in the middle of the night, begging him to stay as he was walking out the door. I felt bad for her, but I didn't care. It didn't make a difference to me whether he was with us, or gone. I had her right? As long as she was there for me, I didn't need him."

"My mom would always be sad for a few days following his 'visits', and I can still feel everything that would go through me when I'd see her cry. The bruises on her face and broken shit all over the floor would drive me insane. I would try so hard to make her feel better, to make her forget him. For a long time, I thought that I was enough. The years I spent with her seem like a dream now. They're so far away, but so clear to me when I pull them up. I had to bury them, you see…."

She heard a hitch in his voice and pulled her eyes away from him. She had never heard him talk like this. She'd never even heard him laugh. The pain was so vivid when he spoke that she thought, just for a moment, she could actually feel it. Stealing a glance at Jacob, she knew he'd asked for a reason. As sad as it was, her interest was peaked, and she couldn't force herself to make him stop. But, as he began to speak again, the vulnerability she saw in his eyes made it almost unbearable.

"One day, when I was twelve, almost thirteen, I got sick. I came home from school and was burning up, nauseated, in pain. When I walked through the door, everything stopped. It was like time just…. Stopped. She stood across the room from me, staring, for what seemed like hours. I kept calling for her to help me, something was wrong with me, but she just stood there. I remember her picking up the phone just before I hit the floor, and her voice in the mouthpiece… 'it's his turn', she said. 'You need to come take him'. I didn't know what she meant or who she was talking to, but the feeling it gave me still lingers. This fear and dread that something bad was going to happen. That she was sending me away or didn't want me anymore. It's actually pretty comical that those were my last thoughts as a human. Lying in the middle of the woods, half naked, with nobody to hear me scream…..all I could think about was her."

"Maybe it was because she was all I ever had, I don't know. Maybe it was because she was the only person that I think ever really gave a shit about me, even if just for a little while. Either way, I trusted her. It was the beginning of the end for me. As I began phasing, slowly, painfully, alone; I started making excuses. She didn't know what to do or they made her give me to them. Something always took the blame away from her. I remember my first moments as a wolf, the confusion, the absolute horror that I felt when I realized I was on four legs. Rodney's dad was gracious enough to explain things to me, enough that I wasn't completely freaked out, anyway. I didn't really care. I told him, when he was finished talking, that I had to go home. It was a school night and my mom would skin my ass if I was out too late. It was then that he told me I'd been in the woods for over a week and a half."

Leah, from the corner of her eye, saw Embry and Paul standing in the kitchen. Their arms were folded and eyes downcast, a strange tick working in both their jaws. How long had they been there?

"I didn't believe him at first. Hell, why should I believe a bunch of men in cutoffs running around in the woods at night? Even as I took off for home, as a wolf, I didn't believe him. I reached my house and managed to phase back in just under thirty minutes. A record I still hold apparently. I ran through the backdoor and could immediately feel the change. It was all different. Everything was in place, nothing had been moved, but it was so different. Her presence was gone, absent from everything it once infected. My mom was pretty infections. She had one of those smiles that just… it made you want to laugh, ya know? Like a pat on the pack from her was the greatest achievement you could earn because she was so bright, so warm. Her words were so gentle, even when she was mad. Running through the house, I honestly couldn't believe that she was gone. Even when I saw, with my own eyes, that her things were missing, I just couldn't."

"Jeremy found me the next morning and took me to where most of our pack members stay. He wasn't around much after that because of everything that was going on with the left over vamps and fucked up creatures still hanging around from the war. John and our third in command, Bo, started training me. I was, uh, I was pretty messed up for a while. Mostly silent, just did what I was told. I didn't really notice how much I'd changed until she came back into my life. A lot of the time that I spent away from her I was in some kind of daze, maybe shock, I don't know. Everything came so easy to me once I just gave in. Whatever they taught me, I was always the best. I learned faster, ran faster, tracked faster. It wasn't until I saw her in that camp that my mind came back into play. _My_ mind, not what they tried to make me. I saw what they wanted me to become, what they were training me for. There were so many expectations and a vision of me being just like him, like Jeremy. I was supposed to take over for him, I was supposed to be the next Alpha."

"The only problem with that, though, was how different I really am from him. I cant be him. I've tried. After I found her I did everything for her, anything she asked of me. I bought her drugs, alcohol. I gave her money and food. I slept maybe three hours a night for the next five years because I had to run double shifts and then find time to run her errands. As I got older I could see what I was doing. I could see how pathetic it was and how weak I was being. But I just couldn't break away. I started getting in fights with my brothers and losing my temper at the drop of a hat. It literally took nothing to make me lose it. They thought it was funny, all of it. From me getting the shit kicked out of me when I'd take her things to her treating me like her pet. A delivery boy. It was wrong, all of it, and it wasn't until Jeremy found out that I was freed of her. Someone, John I think, told him about what I'd been doing one day after I blew up on him and a few others. I pissed them off one too many times, I guess. I used to blame it on the privileges I had being at the top of my pack skill wise for how arrogant I was. I thought they owed me something. It wasn't until it was all taken away that I realized what being in Jeremy's pack was about."

"When Jeremy confronted me about it I blew up. It didn't take long for me to push his buttons and he was screaming right along with me. We argued for maybe five minutes before he phased. I'm not sure why I thought he wouldn't hurt me. He was never a dad to me, never a guardian. He didn't take care of me. After I phased, I was my own responsibility and it's been that way ever since. Either way, when he attacked me, I was honestly surprised. I felt his jaws clamp down around my shoulder and phased. From there, it was an oddly violent fight. I was fairly confident with myself, so fighting back didn't seem like a mistake to me. I wasn't afraid of him. I wasn't afraid of any of them. I fought him until I was literally gasping for breath. He'd knock me down, I'd jump right back up. Over and over again until I was dragging myself out of the dirt just to stand. He kept yelling at me, asking me why I was doing it. 'For your mother?', he asked me. 'Your mother who abandoned you for a life of alcoholism, drugs and a different man everyday?' He insulted her and pushed at my weakest points until I almost went blind with rage. I wanted to kill him. There was nothing I wanted more. It was his fault, all of it. It didn't matter that every word he said about her was true, it was still him."

"Finally, he grew tired of playing my games. He grabbed me by my throat and pinned me to the ground. Everything hurt. His teeth were digging holes through my skin and I was pretty positive that he was going to kill me. For the first time, and the last, when he spoke, he sounded human. He tightened his hold and whispered the truth to me. Why she left, why she seemed to just not care anymore. She was his imprint, his world. That's what they thought imprinting was anyway, before the packs started to separate from the regular people. He told me how she never loved him and only took care of me because our council forced her to. They threatened to kill her if she abandoned me before it was my time to phase. I was the next Alpha, I had to be given enough normalcy before I joined the pack so that my ability to lead wouldn't be clouded by negligence or pain. It was her job, and until she left, they paid her to do it. I was a job. Nothing more. A lot of people ask me how I can be so young and be afraid of nothing. The answer is pretty simple. I've already been to hell….what could anyone or anything possibly do to me that's worse than finding out, from your father, that your whole life was a lie. For a long time I wondered if it was me, if there was something wrong with me that I couldn't see. Something that kept others from caring about me."

"He showed me, then, why he was never around. She didn't love him. He was overwhelmingly in love with her, and she hated him. When she would beg him to stay, it wasn't because she missed him, it was because she wanted to leave. She was trying to get him to stay and take care of me so that she could go on living her life without us. There was nothing we could do that would ever satisfy her. He showed me things that she said about me when I was asleep, things that no mother should ever say about her child, things that suddenly brought everything else into perspective. The way she talked to me when I would visit her in the camp, the look she gave me, it made sense then. After he released me, he disappeared for about a week. It was only by pure coincidence that I phased the morning he came back before he had time to hide any of his thoughts. He went to see her after our fight. He almost killed her, and I couldn't force myself to care. The things I went through during those years I spent with her are still too hard to deal with. I've made more mistakes than I'm willing to admit, and a few of them are just unforgivable."

Leah watched him carefully as he drew in a shaky breath, his pause seeming like more of a break than anything else. She looked over and met Jacob's gaze, sure that hers was full of questions she was waiting quite impatiently to ask. He merely shook his head shortly and turned his attention back to Keegan, a strangely comforting look about him, willing him to go on.

"I have my share of regrets, and I know that a few of them will always be with me no matter how hard I try to redeem myself. But I've come to grips with most of them, and I know that I cant go back. When it was all over, I kind of reverted back to the way I was at first. I did what I was told and focused all my energy on learning to control my phasing, my temper… everything. Now, it's like second nature. I listened to Jeremy and learned how to maintain a clear mind no matter what. I'm always calm, always collected. I haven't lost my temper since then and I've managed to work my way back up to at least the middle of the pack. They don't fuck with me anymore anyway. It's taken me a while to get over it all, but I have. - Look.. The reason I'm telling you this is because I've seen what Jeremy can do, I've seen what packs like ours can do. I've experienced some of the worst from them, and I am one of them… I just don't want you to take this new 'trust' he's offering you too lightly. He's not someone whose word means more than what he'll gain from it. I know that this new agreement has made things easier on everyone, I just don't want to see anyone get hurt because of it. My advice, if I may…..put the borders back in place, and ignore any more 'advice' that Jeremy offers."

Keegan stood and politely pushed his chair under the table, taking his shirt from the back as he moved past Jacob and towards the back door. As if waiting for him to say something else, Jacob's eyes follow him until his hand is on the knob, Embry and Paul moving to the living room once Keegan is past them. She watches him as he pauses, his neck tensing while his mouth parts to release a short breath.

"The answer to your question, the one you've yet to ask, is no. I don't want that life. I don't want that for her either."

Closing the door behind him, Keegan felt a small sense of relief that they'd gotten that conversation out of the way. Leah probably wouldn't understand it until Jacob explained, but the fact that she was present made it all the better. Since Hailey had made it very clear that she was determined to make his life that much harder, he'd expected the questions Jacob had just asked for quite a while. Staying over at their house and being around them all the time had prepared him at least a little. Enough that he had already thought up answers for most of them. The fact that Jacob hadn't openly disapproved of him hanging around with Hailey, and recently, Talon, made the situation a lot easier to deal with when he was finally confronted about it.

With a strange sense of accomplishment, maybe from the approval he received, he makes his way down the stairs and to the wood line. The giddy feeling he gets thinking that Jacob's agreed to him continuing whatever little 'thing' he and Hailey share surprises him, and makes what he'd been unsure about much clearer. So clear, in fact, that he now has to find a way to mask it while phased. The thought stops him and it only takes a few moments for him to notice the two moving figures circling him. He rolls his eyes and lets out a frustrated growl.

"What do you want Rodney?" He asks loudly, tossing his shirt to the side.

"Hey man," Rodney chuckles, holding his hands up as he emerges. "I'm just the messenger. Jeremy told me to let you know that you're patrolling the ravine for the next few days… until Jacob gets back from the meeting. I don't think Jeremy is going, I dunno… he's being kinda shady with info. I dug up as much as I could, though."

Keegan turned to face his long time friend, the difference between them palpable even after all these years. Rodney was short among their pack, and quite scrawny compared to even the smaller of the wolves. His purpose, though respectable, didn't involve fighting unless it was absolutely necessary. He was more of a runner, a scout, a messenger. His jobs usually led him away from the line of fire, and rarely landed him a sturdy name amongst his brothers. Of course, being a 'runt', he had been the brunt of their jokes for most of his time as a wolf. They only eased up when he teamed up with Keegan, and even then, they were cast out of the main 'group'. A good team, and good friends, the two never needed what the others claimed they could offer. Even now, when Keegan has asked the worst of him, he's come through. Not with as much as Keegan would have liked, but with the situation where it was, any was better than none.

"You said the ravine?" Keegan asked incredulously, mapping the distance in his head. "Could he have put me any further away?"

Rodney shrugged. "Not likely. He didn't give me a reason but from what I gathered from the others I'm guessing it's to keep you out of whatever he's planning. He doesn't want you involved with any of it, not even the running or scouting. In fact, his order to John was, if he saw you, to beta command you away."

Keegan's brows raised, surprised by the lengths his father was suddenly taking to keep him away. "That's odd. I figured if it was big he'd want me out front."

They stood in a calm silence for a moment before Keegan let out a long sigh. "Oh well, nothing we can do about it. Thank you for doing this. If you hear anything else come strait to me."

He turned and started walking back towards Jacob's, his direction shift catching Rodney's attention. "I thought you had patrols… where are you going?"

"I was supposed to meet Hailey tomorrow to run her shift with her, I just need to let her know to go to the ravine instead."

Rodney shook his head. "Oh good God, man. Please don't tell me this is how it's going to be from now on. Checking in every five minutes? Letting her know where you are and what you're doing? C'mon! That's something a…. a …. - a _boyfriend_ does." He grabs his throat and begins making dramatic gagging noises. "That word is just.. It's just disgusting. Snap out of it! Before it's too late!"

"Quit being such a girl, Rod." Keegan continues walking, throwing a wave over his shoulder. "I'm not her boyfriend, I'm just… I just don't want her going there without me. It's too close to Jeremy and the rest of them. It's not safe."

"Pfft, right. Keep telling yourself that."

The words are muffled as Keegan hastily makes his way back the way he came. He'll surely be late for his check-in, and that'll most likely lead to a disastrous blow out in which he'll only mildly participate, but he's been looking forward to their paired patrol for days and he's not all that ready to give it up. He looks down at the tattered watch he has worn religiously for the past few years and breaks into a run, the realization that he will, in fact, be very late making him the slightest bit nervous. Just before he reaches the back yard he spots Alex coming in from her rounds and makes a bee line for her path. He jumps in front of her and grabs her shoulders, taking in a deep, controlled breath before speaking.

"I need a favor," he says. "You can call it payback for the other night."

She pushes his arms away and shrugs. "What kind of favor?"

The tone of her voice tilts his stomach the slightest bit, the obvious bitterness she's only recently acquired towards him still making absolutely no sense. He does a once over of her and cant stop his brow from raising. She's just emerged from the woods wearing something he'd imagine someone wearing on a date. Her faded denim shorts expose her entire thigh, her off the shoulder shirt a bright teal with sophisticated looking creased hems at the top, and bottom. Her glitter hinted makeup partially blinds him as he tries to figure out what the hell is going on with her hair. It's pulled up and pretty, that's about all he can make of it.

"Why are you all dressed up?" He asks, momentarily forgetting about his time dilemma.

"Why do you care?" She folds her arms and smirks, taking two steps towards him as he awkwardly takes three back.

"Uh… I don't?" he squeaks, watching her carefully. "Listen, can you give Hailey a message for me?"

She halts abruptly and stares at him as if he's just called her a name, her face crumpled with irritation. "Hailey?"

"Yeah, Hailey. Tell her that I'm not patrolling my circuit anymore, Jeremy moved me to the ravine so she needs to meet me there tomorrow instead of our old place."

Alex only nodded a response, watching as he gave her a huge smile and yelled a boisterous 'thank you' while running back towards the woods. Standing in the same spot for the next few minutes, she finally was able to suck up her annoyance well enough that she could enter the house. The house full of prying and nosey family members who would go crazy if they knew _why_ she was, in fact, dressed up. Lord only knows what Hailey would do. The girl wasn't known for her ability to control her temper, neither was her brother. Both of them had short fuses and neither were shy about expressing their frustrations, despite who may be listening. If either of them thought for a second that she was acting the way she was because she was somehow jealous of Hailey and Keegan's relationship, one or both would make it into a huge deal. Not that she would blame them. It was somewhat strange, and shady, of her to feel this way about a 'friend's' interest, even if only momentary. Explaining it to them would be impossible. Hell, she couldn't even explain it to herself. Why she was suddenly angry that Keegan was interested in Hailey still couldn't be pin pointed, and it was getting worse. He could understand what she's going through and vise versa, why he didn't want that just didn't make sense to her.

As she walked through the back door she immediately spotted Talon sitting next to Leah at the table, eating a bowl of cereal. She could see the tension pulling at his usually light features. The playfulness he usually carried around with him has been temporarily replaced with frustration, and she has a pretty good idea why. It wasn't a secret that he was quite the 'player' back in Bay City, and the fact that he hadn't once looked elsewhere since they'd began talking was enough to show her that he was a little more than interested in her. Up until now he's been great. Up until now the interest was mutual and the fling they had going on was making things so much easier on her here in La Push. He was her friend, confidant and sometimes a little more. She could see him getting uncomfortable anytime she would talk about a serious relationship and although she figured it should, the obvious distain for 'titles' didn't bother her. They didn't mean anything to him. They were only words. Stamps placed on a couple, hanging them out to dry as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

He looked up and caught her gaze, his frown seeming to deepen once he takes in her appearance. Although nobody else has found any reason to suspect unfavorable intentions on her part, he seems to believe that she's up to something. Much to her dismay, and he's made no effort to hide it. In fact, he's been a dick to her since she and Keegan returned that night. Which was odd, to her, seeing as she was under the impression that when another guy shows up with your girlfriend, there was supposed to be some sort of animosity between the _males._ Not a newfound friendship. Seeing Leah notice her she throws her head to the side, signaling for him to follow her out. He remains seated, defiantly crossing his arms. She can see the silent question in his eyes, '_why should I?'_

"Oh hey, Alex."

It came as no surprise when she turned to see the infamous daughter of Jacob Black standing arrogantly in the doorway, her arms folded under her breasts and brow quirked challengingly. Alex's chest begin to pound. Her blood heated up a few degrees and the irritation she's held quietly against the other girl began to increase noticeably. She watched her as she strode into the kitchen, each sway of her hip and flip of her hair working another nerve. She balled her fists and held them tightly to her side, this uncontrollable envy and distain still taking her off guard as it washed over her. She was beautiful, no doubt, and it made Alex dislike her that much more. She'd obviously just showered, her freshly blow-dried hair full of volume and bounce. It's gotten longer since they first arrived, the loose waves and perfect way that they fell around her shoulders reminding Alex of a hairstyle strait out of a movie. She was wearing a simple black tank top that clung to every inch of her, light blue faded jeans riding tightly from the lowest waist set possible to her ankles where they ended just before her bare feet.

"Hey Hailey," she finally forced out. "What are you doing today?"

She couldn't be positive that her smile was even the least bit convincing, it was getting harder to be around her without saying or doing something that would set her off. Tip toeing around her, though, seemed like more of an insult that precaution. Why should she have to alter the way she thinks because of her? This perfect 'princess', Alpha's daughter, gorgeous shape shifter thing was beginning to make Alex sick to her stomach. What makes her so special? All that she can see is a spoiled brat whose parents do nothing but instigate her behavior by giving her whatever she wants. _Some_ people aren't so lucky.

"I'm going to town with my dad for a while. He has some things to do at the shop and we need some stuff from the store. You wanna come?"

The sincerity of her words and the genuinely sweet smile on her face didn't ease the bitter knot caught in Alex's throat. "No thanks, I was just coming in from my patrols and wanted to stop by. Actually, I needed to talk to Talon about something, if that's okay?"

The question was directed at Leah but before she could speak Hailey's eyes widened and her usually giddy personality heightened, if possible. "Did you see Keegan on your way in?" She asked loudly through a mouthful of apple, seating herself in Leah's lap.

Alex grinded her teeth. "Yeah, I saw him. He was headed out, though…"

"Did he say anything?"

"Um, no not really, just hi."

Hailey's brows drew together, scrunching the top of her face. "Are you sure?"

Alex's heart fell to her stomach. She didn't want to lie, but she didn't want to tell her the truth either. Of course he said something. He wanted to be sure that they were able to meet tomorrow and have their 'time' together that he's surely been looking forward to. The guy that no girl has been able to have a relationship with for as long as she's known of him, not even a consistent meet with, has fallen for the one girl that knew nothing about him. She could relate to him in _no_ way, yet, she's snagged his heart. Keegan wasn't ready to admit it, but Alex knew. He wouldn't have gone through so much trouble for her, or hung around this long if Hailey hadn't showed him something that he liked. Was it the sex? Was she having sex with him? - No. She's probably _not_ having sex with him, therein keeping him interested…..right? That's how she's heard those sort of things work. Give in too easy, they bolt. Hold out for too long, they give up. Perfect timing, that's what Anna always said. But how would Hailey know any of that? She had to have been experienced, right? What girl, as beautiful as she is, could hold out for this long? She's turning seventeen in a week or two. Yeah, that had to be it. Maybe Leah taught her?

"Oh! He did say something about reminding you to meet him tomorrow for your shifts."

"Where we always meet?" Hailey's smile had returned, maybe even brighter than before.

Alex could feel her insides churning, the thought of doing what she was about to do making her uneasy in the cruelest of ways. But she had to prove a point. Someone had to say no to this girl, right? Someone had to show her that not everyone is at her beckon call. She was going to do it, because she could, because Hailey Black had yet to win control over her. And she was going to be sure that she knew it.

"Yep, he said in your regular place." Alex offered a smile and watched as Hailey nodded her approval and jumped up from her seat to meet Jacob at the front door.

"Leah, you coming?" He asked, paying no mind to Alex. "I know you don't feel good but maybe some fresh air will help. We're going to get something to eat and maybe go to the park…. C'mon… ride with us?"

Leah threw her head back and groaned, thoroughly repulsed by the idea of a car. But, on the other hand, thoroughly enticed by the thought of food. "Where are we eating?"

"Ummmm… wherever you want?" He shrugged, grinning widely.

"Okay, you talked me into it."

Jacob chuckled while opening the door for his two girls… well, women….stopping in the doorway when he caught site of Talon still sitting. "You staying here?" He eyed his son carefully, the tension in the room almost audible as it cleared out, leaving only the two teens.

"Yeah I got something I need to take care of," he conceded, his eyes fixed on his 'girlfriend'. "You guys go ahead and have fun, I'll probably be on patrol when you get back."

"Alright, if you change your mind we'll come back and get you. No big deal."

"Thanks but I don't think that will be necessary."

Jacob shrugged. "Okay then, see ya later…..bye Alex."

"Bye Jake," she said.

As she waited patiently for the sound of the door to close, watching it the whole way, she didn't even notice Talon getting up and moving to the sink. She didn't look at first, afraid that he'd be giving her one of those _looks_. The kind that make you feel like shit even when you've done nothing wrong. Jacob had really good looks. So did Sam. Hopefully Talon hadn't inherited it somehow. Gathering her courage, she finally turned, only to find him paying her absolutely no mind at all. He slowly, patiently, rinsed out his bowl and placed it in the dishwasher along with his spoon. He then pulled the hand towel from the oven's handle and dried his hands, carefully placing it back where he got it when finished. Finally turning, he leaned against the counter and folded his arms. There was no hostility or annoyance, only boredom, it seemed. Was this a front? It had to be, Talon had been really open with her so far, she doubted he'd close it off now. Now, when they were having issues. _Her_ being the issue.

"I wanted to talk to you," she almost whispers.

"About what?"

"About what happened the other night, I guess. If that's what you've been ill about."

She literally watched his face harden once she finished, his jaw ticking slightly. "Ill? I've been ill? Are you joking? You've been sauntering around here like some kind of fucking queen, expecting everyone to get out of your way because your mom pissed you off."

"Excuse me?" She drew her head back in surprise, a hand subconsciously moving to her chest. "Me? I've been dealing with my mom as best I can. I'm sorry that I cant just forget about something like that. This is why I didn't want any of you involved, none of you can understand."

"Not like he can, right?"

She flinched. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you really think I'm that stupid?" He rolled his eyes. "For Christ's sake, Alex, you were stuck to him like a damn leech when you two came home. I don't know what happened out there, but he's with my sister, and you need to show a little respect to both of them by staying out of it."

"They're not _together_," she bites, backing herself against the wall.

Talon closed his eyes and chuckled humorlessly, his head shaking slowly as he thought over his next words. "That's your defense? I'm basically accusing you of having feelings for him, and all you can say is, 'they're not together'?" He sighs heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Honestly, I don't care what you do. We're not really together, not seriously, and I didn't really expect much to come from what we were doing. I'm seventeen, I don't want to be with you forever. But Hailey is my sister, and despite how I feel about 'love' and 'relationships', they have something. I don't know what it is or how far it will go, but she cares about him and vise versa. So do what you will with whoever else, that's your business, just stay away from him."

The conversation had shifted so dramatically within such a short period that, despite how clear he'd made his words, she was baffled. Her breaths were coming in short, sharp gusts, her chest rising and falling too quickly. Was he really defending her? Right now, during a conversation that was supposed to be about them, he was taking up for _her_. Did nobody care that she was hurting?

"What if I want to be with him, huh?" She asks defensively, sniffing back tears. "What if he's who I want? Who the hell do you think you are? You cant tell me to stay away from him! You're not the Alpha, Talon, just his son. Maybe you will be someday but until then, I can talk to whoever the fuck I want, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it."

Alex turns for the door, appalled that Talon is making no effort to follow her. "So what, you're just going to let me go?" She spins around as the first tear falls. "You don't even care, do you? I'm going through shit too, ya know? It's not all fucking rainbows and sunshine for all of us…. You guys think that just because your lives are perfect, that everyone else's are too. I hate to disappoint you, but it just doesn't work that way."

He watches her as she vents, her eyes flooded with tears and breathing continuously increasing as she begins to yell. "Calm down, Alex." He says softly, pushing himself from the counter. "There's no need to work yourself up like this, nobody thinks that anything is perfect… we all have problems, alright? Just chill out….sit down or something…"

She shoves the chair he offers her back at him, kicking it for good measure. "Fuck that. You don't even care do you? I come here to talk about us and it immediately turns into something about her. Not _everything_ is about Hailey, ya know? Not that it matters anyway, right? I was just an easy fuck now that you're in a new place. So what, did you lose all your Bay City girlfriends and haven't had a chance to start working the girls around here? Just settled for me until school starts, huh?"

To her completely and utter surprise, he was unaffected by her ranting and raving. He only refolded his arms and let out another sigh. "Do you hear yourself? Why is Hailey being brought into this? You're starting shit with the guy she's 'dating' or whatever, you don't see the problem with that?"

"I am not starting anything! I just wanted someone to lean on! Someone that could understand and help me move on! Is that really so wrong? I don't think so, but he's too busy following _her_ around. He cant give up five minutes of his time to help me out."

Talon unintentionally rolled his eyes. _Again_. "First of all, he barely knows you. Why would he give up _any_ of his time for someone he's only just met? He was nice enough to save your ass when you decided to play tough, do you really expect so much of him? So much that he'd give up the little bit of time he has with someone whose technically still off limits to him? Second, you have a _ton_ of people here that _want_ and _can_ help you with whatever you need. You talk about me not giving a shit? What about you? How do you think it made me feel when you went to my sister's guy for help instead of me? Granted he was right in saying that I'd have been clueless about where to go, it still doesn't change the fact that you put absolutely _no_ trust in me, and _all_ your trust in him. A stranger to you."

He shook his head as he heard her begin to speak, finding himself unable to listen to anymore of her nonsense. "And you know what? I've heard you go on about how selfish Hailey and Clair are, but have you ever stopped to look at yourself? You would ask so much of Keegan, a guy you barely know, when you know first hand what it would feel like for him to have to deal with something as painful as his mother. You would ask him to go back and relive all of his worst memories to help you get over yours, when it's not even necessary. You have family, friends, _me _here to do whatever you want, whatever you need….but that's not good enough right? You'd rather place the blame on someone else, someone who hasn't done anything to you. I mean, you're supposed to be Hailey's friend. She's been nothing but loyal to you since you got here. She helped you when Tyrone died, she's always around when you need to talk. I mean, fuck, so am I! What the hell have I been wasting my time with you for if we all mean so little to you!"

Alex wrapped her arms around herself as she watched his temper begin to rise. _"if you ever see them losing it, just walk away."_ That was Jacob's advice when addressing Talon and Hailey's tempers. Yet, even with his voice fresh in her mind, she stayed.

"I care about all of you," she whispered. "I just don't feel like I belong here."

He began backing away towards the door, his frame beginning to shake. "You've always belonged here and you know it. That's not the problem now. The problem is, you wanting something you cant have. The same issue you claim is so unattractive on Hailey. I suggest you start taking a good, long look at yourself before you continue passing judgment the way you do. I'm done listening to you talk about my sister, I thought maybe you'd be smart enough to get over it once you got to know her. I don't know why she intimidates you so much, but you need to figure out how to deal with it. Because she's not going anywhere. Neither is Keegan. He may be an outsider to our pack but he's more of a friend to both of us than you're being."

As the door slammed behind him, Alex was positive that she'd done the right thing. Besides, it wasn't like she'd done anything horrible. She gave Hailey wrong directions. She and Keegan both would figure out the mix-up within seconds of getting there and would figure it out just fine. Talon was being over dramatic. Nothing bad was going to happen. It was just an innocent prank. Right?

* * *

**a/n. I know, I've been so bad. But you have to understand, Halo Reach came out! I played that game for, _literally_ eight hours strait today! That's a whole work day! My eyes are about to bulge out of my head, but I got this out JUST for you guys. :D I know, it's no excuse. But, if it makes it any better, I wont be back at my cousin's until the weekend so I have all week to get updates out. And I plan to! T-T although waiting to play that game is just as painful as waiting for reviews. Halo-whore, review-whore…. What's the difference, right? Hehe. **

**Anyway, quicker updates, and one for HEAT ACTIVATED this week I PROMISE. Blackout is mostly finished so that one I'm not so worried about. I have a few free hours tomorrow morning so hopefully that'll get posted quickly. Thank you for your patience and for reading! You guys always make my day with your emotionally animated reviews…. SO LEAVE ME SOME! ^-^ **

**Loves to Kei, who has gotten me back in my groove for the most part with our goofy and yet insanely entertaining AND inspirational chats. GYM TOMORROW WOMAN, WISH ME LUCK! Lmao. My ass is screaming at me already, *sighs*, the things I do for the WILFS. June is coming quick… sort of…. And we have to be ready! **


	42. The Beginning

**It All Started With a Promise**

**By: Cucumber07**

**Chapter 42: The Beginning**

He feels her fingers trace daringly over his stomach, her arms encasing him from behind. He cant escape the burning feeling in his chest, this reassurance that she's who he's supposed to be with. He feels every inch of her, every movement, every breath, every beat. She could be his world. She could be everything he's wanted, everything he's hoped for… but he _cant_. He shouldn't be here now, doing this, feeding the flame he's sworn to put out. Nobody is making him, nobody but himself. He's learned though, through the years of watching and waiting. It's just too hard. Jacob immediately enters his mind and he feels guilt wash over him, the pang of regret filling him to the brim with wishes and demands of change. For so long he's wanted to say he's sorry. He wishes he could take it back, make it right, make it okay; but he _cant_. How can he commit to a relationship, to a woman he's supposed to love, when he can barely speak to his best friend any more? The memories flood him and he feels himself unintentionally lean into her, savoring her warmth, the comfort. He's not used to feeling it and it's now that he understands what Jacob has been fighting against. The desire to feel, to love, to be wanted and want in return. To give yourself to someone completely and cherish all of the small moments that honestly wouldn't mean much to those who haven't been where they have. And then there's logic, reason. You're putting them in danger, you're taking away their right to feel safe, to _be _safe. They'll have less when they're with you, options will be taken away, fear will be instilled in a once careless soul. They'll miss you when you're gone and be angry at you when you stay. Eventually, they'll begin to blame you, hate you, for doing this to them and you wont understand because it's all you've ever known. This life is all they've ever known. His pack, his friends, his brothers. The three are one in the same to him, but she could never understand that. None of them can, because they weren't there. As careless and selfish as it sounds, it's the truth. And one thing Embry Call has learned; you cant escape the truth.

The truth is that Jacob is right, he was always right, and they couldn't understand him because of it. He talked of living like Jeremy and giving their families an option to live normal lives, to go have adventures of their own, _safe_ adventures without all the stress and pain. Because that's all they are to them. Pain. It's all they cause now that things have gone so far downhill. They've lived in between for so long now. Never committing to one, but forced to live with the other. Rachel, Emily, Clair, Danny, Sue, Billy, Kim, Old Quil… even Leah and the twins. All of them flash through his mind, pictures of them so many years ago, when things seemed simple. They were kids, with childish wishes and expectations. War seemed cool to them, like some sort of initiation into what seemed so 'manly', so 'badass'. If they'd have only known then, what they know now, things probably would have been different. Their lives would have been different. They could have prepared, maybe understood a little better than they do. But there's no understanding it. Because they were so unprepared for the feelings and emotions that came with killing. Not killing vampires, not killing people, not killing monsters. Just killing. The thought used to seem so trivial, necessary. Now, the thought is just absent. And that in itself is scary. They feel nothing now when it comes time to do their 'job', and it's this that has brought him here.

He sees Jacob trying so hard now that Leah has come home, and it's killing him. It's killing him, because it's killing Jacob. The need to make her happy is so strong, so painfully enormous within him that he just cant withstand it. She cant see it in his eyes, not like his pack can, because she doesn't know him anymore. None of them do. Not even Jacob. Embry pinches his eyes closed and squeezes until his ears are ringing, his head feeling as if it will explode. They say that nobody can pinpoint a moment when an Alpha truly becomes an Alpha, but Embry would gladly disagree. He remembers the exact moment. The smallest of seconds between life and death, when Jacob stopped being his best friend, and was suddenly a stranger to him. He can still picture the mass of vampires that emerged from over the hill, the way that smell only loyal to their kind invaded every one of his senses and how hard it was for him to move when he saw how many were coming. They'd been fighting for weeks, and he'd thought they were getting somewhere, actually making progress. But this wave came so fast and so strong, so much worse than the others. They weren't normal, not like the ones they were used to. These were stronger, faster, smarter. It was the first time that he actually felt fear take hold of him, the first time he actually thought about dying. It was then that he felt it. It wasn't just him, it was all of them. Their whole pack was ringing with fear and he knew that they would never win this way. So did Jacob. He can still hear the moment Jacob's voice changed, the hoarse and demanding way he told them all to shut up. He remembers the first Alpha command he ever used on them, and the harsh words afterwards. _'You fight, or you die.'_

"Embry?"

He hears her voice but cant seem to respond as he begins to wonder why they fought so hard to believe that Jacob was lying. Why they never understood the fear that surfaced every time Talon and Hailey came to visit, why they could never grasp the battle he waged within himself every time they left the room. Maybe it was denial. Maybe it was their default way of handling things. They just ignored what would only hurt them further. But he understands now. Just like Paul, and Sam, and Jared.

"Embry are you alright?"

Erika cranes her neck around to look at him, concern evident on her face. He peeks over at her and manages a small smile. He wishes it could be this way all the time, he wishes they could be together. He reaches over and touches her face softly with the tips of his fingers, tracing the outline of her features as he breathes her in. She's so beautiful. Her large, brown eyes are still searching for an answer.

"No, I don't think I am," he says honestly. "I haven't been alright for a long time, and I'm really not sure how to make it better."

Her brows furrow as she takes his hand from her face and gives it a light squeeze. "Tell me what's wrong, maybe I can help?"

He shakes his head slowly. "I wish you could. I wish someone could. But I think that fixing it will come with a lot of unwanted memories, and I know that it isn't going to come easily. You see, my family and I…. we're really close, like I told you before. But we're not like we should be. We're all so… messed up. Things with us are just so messed up. We have to fix it, we have find some kind of peace. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Erika shakes her head slightly and barely whispers, "no… I don't."

"I know," he breathes. "I know you don't understand, because you cant. Do you know why I'm here? Do you know why I just _had_ to keep seeing you? Why it's so hard to let you go?"

"What are you.. - what are you talking about?"

He turns to her and takes her hands, resting both sets in his lap. There's a sadness in his face that she doesn't quite understand. He seems so lost, so confused. "I imprinted on you. Do you know what that means?"

"Uhhh…. No? _Should_ I know what that means? Ya know… you're starting to sound a little crazy, what are you trying to say?"

Embry smiles an empty smile, his eyes watering slightly. "I'm a shape shifter… I can turn into a wolf. If you don't believe me, I can show you."

Erika flinches a little, her eyes growing slightly wide. "A…. - a wolf? Like a.. four legs? Wet nose… like… canine?"

"A giant wolf. It's why I'm so warm, why I'm so big. Do you believe me?"

She nods reluctantly, suddenly taking in all the little things she hadn't noticed before. "And your friends? Your family?"

"They're all wolves too. We're a pack, Jacob is our Alpha. There's more out there, everywhere really. Bordering us, bordering each other. Too many to count."

"I cant… I mean… why are you telling me this?"

"Because we're real, and so are vampires. That's what we hunt, what we kill. We've been to war and done horrible things, seen horrible things, had horrible things done to us. That's what I mean by messed up. We lost ourselves somewhere out there, and when I say we need to fix it, I mean that we need to stop living in the past, trying to be who we were. We're not those people anymore, no matter how much we want to be. This is the world we live in, and I cant bring you into it."

She inches closer. "What does imprinting mean?"

He hesitates momentarily, unsure of what the truth will mean to her. "You're my soul mate. You're who I'm supposed to be with. And I want to be, more than anything. It will kill me to be away from you, but I just cant do this right now. I don't know myself. I don't know how to do this, ya know? I don't know how to live this life. We're so caught up in what is going to kill us, what's after us, what's threatening us. It all falls on our family, and it's not fair. I don't want that for you. I don't want that for us." He pauses for a long moment, his breaths coming long and slow, as if he's preparing himself for something. She watches, anticipating what could possibly come next. "Some things will change for you….some important things that you should know about. As long as I'm alive, you'll remain the same. You wont age, nothing about you will change. You can still die, still be hurt, you're still _human_ in every other aspect… but you'll live as long as I do. You're tied to me now. For life. But I want you to make your own decisions. I want you to live your own life. Do you understand what I'm saying? I don't want you stuck in this place….in this… fucking cage, do you see? Do you get it?"

His hands begin shaking slightly and she can see the mist covering his eyes, threatening to betray the strength he's desperately trying to hold on to. Her head immediately begins shaking and she can almost _feel_ his heart speeding up, his head beginning to pound. "I don't want to..-"

"You don't now but you will!" He shouts, pulling away from her and standing. "You don't understand what it's like! For us, for them. They don't say it, but I can see it in their eyes just as clearly as they see it in ours. They're miserable! What kind of life is this for a family? What kind of life is this for anyone? I used to think that leaving was insane, that we should always be together but now there are times that I wish we would have never come back!"

"Don't say that. It would have killed them, your family, if you would have died… if you would have stayed away!"

"We're killing them now! Don't you get it? We're killing them _because_ we're here! Do you know how many times I've heard at least one of them crying in the middle of the night? Do you know how many times I've turned around and watched pathetically as they stood in silence, watching us leave, never knowing if we're going to come back? Do you know how many times they've feared for their lives? Feared for their children's lives? Jesus Christ they were like ghosts before Leah came home, they were like zombies… just waiting on us to get back so they can have some kind of normalcy. Maybe dinner, maybe breakfast. Do you know how many times Paul or Sam or Jacob have looked at the people they love most in the world with this coldness that could literally freeze your core, your soul, and told them they just don't care? But in the end it doesn't matter because nothing is going to change until we wake up. Until _we_ stop this fucking cycle that we've been living in for so long."

"Then stop it," she demands. "Take whatever life Leah has brought back with her and hold onto it. Change it, fix it, mend it. Whatever you have to do. But I'm not leaving. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay right here and when you're finished with whatever shit you have to deal with, you're going to come back."

"I am?" He asks, suddenly amused. "You're sure about that?"

She smiles. "I'm positive. I'm your soul mate remember?"

"Yeah." He chuckles. "Yeah, I guess you are."

He revels in the comfortable silence that takes over and closes the distance between them, pulling her into a tight hug. He doesn't get his hopes up, not completely, but allows a small thought of what could be to cross his mind and is forced to smile. It's a little reckless, he knows, allowing himself to want something so much. Allowing this need to make things better to weasel it's way into his heart. It's always dangerous, dealing with hopes and dreams, but he thinks it could be different this time. He's seen so much hurt, so much pain amongst the same group of people; there has to be an end, doesn't there? There has to be a reason, there has to be a point to it all. There _needs_ to be a break, some sort of leeway. Nobody deserves it more. He thinks suddenly about his brothers, about Jacob, and he knows that he'd take it from them if he could. If he had a chance, just one chance, he would trade it all so that they could just feel alright for a day, a week, a month. He would take it all from _Jacob_. All his memories, all his fears, all his regrets. He'd happily share his load, lift some of the weight so that he could stand a little straighter, his shoulders could sit a little easier, his head could be held a little higher. If he could help him find that light, that brightness, he once held in his eyes, he'd feel at ease. He'd feel as if he accomplished something during his time in the pack, during his time as Jacob's brother.

Anything would be better than what they have now. Any progress, any small step forward. It would be worth a few tears, a few harsh words. If anything, he knows they have to try. There's just no point to living this way, with no happiness, with nothing to look forward to. If anything…he knows he has to try..

* * *

There's something so familiar about the air as she watches the pack gather in the driveway. There's a solemn way about them, almost sad, as they reluctantly begin saying their goodbyes. She watches Jacob carefully as he gives instructions to those who are staying behind, some still injured, some for protection. Leah shifts from one foot to the other several times before finally pushing herself forward, taking the few steps down to the driveway. Seth pulls himself away from the conversation he's been in with Sam for the past few minutes, his face showing his frustration clearly, and crosses the small crowd to where she's standing. Before she can say a word he pulls her into a hug, his arms secured tightly around her neck and head. Slightly taken aback by the action, the gestures being few and far between since her arrival, she slowly returns it, her arms cautiously snaking around his torso.

"Uh, Seth.." she wheezes, suddenly at a loss for air. "Not that I don't enjoy an occasional hug from you… but you're choking me…"

"Sorry," he says quietly.

She pulls back and eyes him warily. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, it's just.. - I don't know… I feel like we're always leaving you. Are you sure you don't want to come? I'm sure Jacob would love to have you with us and I..-"

"Seth, it's alright. I really don't feel good and I haven't been sleeping very well… I'd rather stay here. It's my choice this time." She offers him a reassuring smile. "Besides, you'll only be gone for a few days. Four at the most, right?"

He nods. "Yeah, the Council doesn't usually keep an Alpha from his territory for too long. If they do, they'll send Sam back. Either way, _someone_ will be back soon. I just wish that I didn't feel so guilty about going, it would make the trip a lot easier."

"You have no reason to feel guilty, I told you, it's my choice this time. If I thought you'd be gone for four years, I'd be going with you."

She cracked a goofy grin and shoved his shoulder, trying to loosen the air. It didn't seem to be working. As Seth stood in a sulky silence, his eyes traveling over the attending group, Leah could see Jacob making his way to them from the corner of her eye. It wasn't an odd occurrence, him seeming slightly distant, but it was especially potent today. There was such a hardness about him that it made her wonder if he was doing it on purpose, some strange way of protecting himself. From what, she couldn't quite figure out.

"You know, you keep frowning and your face'll get stuck like that." She grinned, turning to him as he approached. "You're too pretty to have a scowl forever plastered across that money maker."

Seth laughed, a little louder than he meant to, before patting Jacob on the back and walking back to Sam. Seeing that Seth was out of ear shot, Leah let her smile slip slightly, remembering what he said. She knows that if anyone should have sore feelings about them leaving _again_, it's her. But as she looks around and watches all of the married or committed pack members battle to keep peace with their counterparts, she just cant force herself to feel it. If anything, there's a slight tinge of anger that flares every time she sees Emily or Kim berating Sam or Jared for doing what they all know must be done. As sudden as it seems, Leah can feel a slight complacency when approaching a subject as delicate as the pack. All of the anger she's felt, all of the hurt and wishes to rewind; it's all replaced with something stronger. Something loyal. She doesn't want them to go. Not now, not ever. But the childish part of her that's forever blaming them is gone, and she knows that it was never their fault. Thinking over time lost, it seems more painful than the goodbye.

"Sorry," he mumbles. "Just don't really want to go. They're just going to spit more bullshit about 'laws' and 'regulations'. It doesn't mean anything."

He folds his arms and shifts from foot to foot, his eyes on the ground. There's something she doesn't quite recognize in his posture, something different. - fear?

"Oh well," she sighs. "Just get it over with and c'mon back home. The twins birthday party is in a few days and we haven't planned anything. Hailey will be unbelievably pissed if we don't _at least_ get a cake."

He smiles. But it's not real. "I know. I'll do my best. Cant make any promises though…"

"I know." She shrugs awkwardly. "We'll be fine here."

The attempted reassurance doesn't go unnoticed, but is ignored anyway. Jacob only nods a weak, half nod. "I'll see you soon. Take it easy, huh? If you're sick you shouldn't be doing too much around here. That's what the kids are for, and the rest of these useless sacks." He nods at Colin, a small smirk pulling at his lips. It fades just as quickly, the deep frown returning. "I gatta get going."

He hesitates and watches her brows furrow as he does, his half extended arms stopping mid way without reason. She cant help the small pang in her stomach when he does it. Shows such obvious distain for having to deal with these things before leaving. He doesn't voice it. But then again, he doesn't have to. She still sees it, despite his greatest efforts.

"I don't want to go," he says suddenly. "It's worse this time."

Her lips draw, her brows remaining in a pinched mound. "What do you mean?"

"I just don't feel right," he almost whispers. "My stomach hurts. My chest is aching. My heart is beating too hard. My thoughts are too confusing. That feeling… the one I told you about; it's worse now. I shouldn't leave…"

She frowns. "You have to go," she whispers back. "We both know that you _have_ to go."

He shakes his head. "It doesn't feel right."

His tone is dismissive, defiant. His face is brooding and his mind is visibly swarming. There's an uncertainty about her next movements that only furthers his guilt, but he cant escape the knowledge that he's right this time. He's told Sam, Paul; they only shrug it off. He doesn't blame them because he does this all the time. It's been weighing on him since Leah moved home. A feeling. _Just_ a feeling. Nothing that can hold any sort of ground with anyone other than himself. They think he's afraid. Afraid of commitment, afraid of giving himself back to Leah. He's not.

"I love you," he breathes. "I love you so much… and I hope that I'm wrong."

He's pulled her into a tight hug, a hug that shows her everything he's feeling. It's strong, confident, wary. His arms case around her like it's the first time he's hugged her in years. His face is in her neck, his breathing uneven and desperate. He needs it, she knows it. But he pulls away quickly, after his words are spoken, after his feelings are expressed. It makes him feel a little better. He turns before she can speak again and his long strides make the trip seem so much shorter. He hears the whispered, _'I love you'_, but doesn't stop. He doesn't turn or acknowledge. It's time to go. And if he turns around, if he sees her, he knows he wont leave. His gut wouldn't let him. Not if he had another chance to stay, make some sort of excuse. This has to be done….he _has_ to go.

* * *

"Ma!"

Leah rolls her eyes. "What, Hailey?"

Hailey rounds the corner confidently, her eyes bright, stature strong. As hard as Leah's tried, she hasn't quite made it to bed yet and has settled for the kitchen, a large bowl of cereal situated in front of her.

"_I_, my dearest mother, am going to patrol now."

Leah watches as her daughter flounces to the refrigerator, downs two bottles of water and carefully places them into the recycling bin she recently introduced to her father's kitchen. "Is that right?"

"Mhmm," she mumbles. "I've got a three hour shift."

"And who are you going with?"

Hailey smiles. "Dad paired me with Keegan while he's gone."

"Uh huh," Leah sing songs. "So I guess I don't have to do through the, 'be careful, be mindful, watch your back… blah blah blah', speech do I?"

"Nope," she hums. "I should be fine. Keegan is meeting me and we're running together….and I'm pretty sure that Colin is out… and Keegan's friend, um… Rodney, I think."

Leah eyeballs Hailey for a moment, then nods. "Well… be careful anyway. Make sure you go strait to Keegan and have him walk you back here. With so many gone I don't want there to be any mistakes. I wish Talon would have stayed, I'd feel better if he were with you."

"I'll be fine mom! Quit worrying so much. Go take a nap, you look like you need one."

Hailey catches a glimpse of the glare her mother is throwing her way and maybe the slightest of growls before she finally yells one last goodbye and makes a run for it. She welcomes the slight chill as soon as her feet meet dirt and revels in the freedom she feels as soon as she breaks the wood line. The forest is damp, freshly coated in the regulated Washington rain. It's nothing new to her, and is somewhat comforting after being cooped up inside all day. The air is light, fresh. She tugs the band from her hair, allowing the strands to flow freely with the breeze her hasty pace is creating. She cant help but feel slightly anxious. It's strange, how at first she was the confident one. She was the bold, arrogant player in the game. And now she's the one with all the uncertainties, the nervous high school sweetheart part that she's yet to play up until now. It was a little unsettling.

As she reaches the small, open space she and Keegan have been meeting in since they met, her face immediately drops. He's not visible, even as she comes further in, going so far as to cross what would normally be the border to try and spot him. His scent is completely absent. He hasn't been here in a while. Neither of them have. There are no sounds, not even the basics. There are no birds, no small creatures bustling around on the ground or in the branches. Bushes are still, trees are silent, all usual inhabitants are gone. There's no breeze. There's no sunlight. There are no scents. Not her pack's, not theirs. Nobody has been here for a while. It doesn't sit right in her stomach, thinking that both Jeremy and Jacob have left this space unattended. Jacob wouldn't, she knew without a doubt, unless Jeremy offered to take care of it. As she stood, her gaze wandering, in the middle of the space, she could feel something approaching. It wasn't threatening, not like one of the monsters they faced before, but still made her wary. Uncomfortable.

"Hailey?"

The voice somehow didn't take her by surprise, and she didn't flinch upon hearing it. She turned slowly, cautiously, and watched Jeremy carefully as he emerged from the trees. His scent didn't hit her until he was on her, and it was then she realized she hadn't checked downwind. Stupid move, really.

"Hey, uh, I'm supposed to be meeting Keegan for patrols… have you seen him?"

Her voice didn't waver, and she knew that she was feigning confidence fairly well. It showed on his face. He seemed slightly put off.

"Well," he began slowly, circling her. "I actually reassigned him. I was sure he would have told you, or at least one of your pack members. He's on the Ravine from now on."

She stiffens slightly. "Oh."

There's a pause. In his movements, words. She doesn't break the odd and reasonably creepy silence, only waits for his next advancement. He's gotten closer during the conversation, the distance being little more than a few inches. He's at her side, facing the opposite direction and his arm pressed to hers, his face turned awkwardly towards her. His eyes are heavy on her face, something about them suddenly frightening, and it's all she can do to stand still as he continues to take her in. She clears her throat.

"I should get going," she says. "Colin will be looking for me before too long. I don't want him freaking out and scaring my mom or dad… you know how he gets…"

Thinking that a reminder of who he's dealing with to be on the safe side, Hailey turns and begins walking away, her stomach lurching slightly when she feels him catch her wrist.

"Oh no need to rush off. Keegan's times have been changed too, he's at the house right now grabbing a bite to eat. I'll happily take you to him…. Then the two of you can run your patrols safely. No harm done, right?"

His resolve is steady, and she's unsure of how to decipher a lie from the truth. Either way, the situation being what it was, her options were pretty limited. If he was, in fact, attempting some sort of play against Jacob, she'd have no way out now. If she ran, they'd catch her. If she screamed, they'd shut her up. He was going to take her either way, and she knew it. And if he were being genuine….well… that possibility just wasn't registering any longer. She knows now.

"I really shouldn't… not without telling someone.."

He frowns. "We'll only be a minute. As soon as you're with him, I'll let your mother know."

Hailey turns her head in the direction of home and gives a short, distraught sigh. "Of course…. No harm done.."

_It's always me_, she thought to herself before turning and following him in the direction of what she assumed to be their reservation.

* * *

**a/n. I know, long time. I'm sorry guys, really, I've been so busy. I'm exhausted even as we speak BUT I needed to get something out. Thanks to all of you that are still reading. I appreciate it, truly. **

**Reviews, if you would. :D**


	43. Gone and Gone

**It All Started With a Promise**

**By:Cucumber07**

**Chapter 43- Gone and Gone.**

There was a tight cloud hovering over him, following him around as he paced the Ravine furiously. His breath was coming out in short, loud bursts. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides, his chest's movement rapid and uncontrolled. It wasn't like him. There were very few moments when he could truly say he was on the verge of phasing unintentionally, even fewer in recent years. His control was strong, unwavering. Just not now.

"Okay so, I know that you're upset but…" Rodney paused, his hands held up in a weak defense. "I have some information for you."

Keegan stopped, turned to him. "What has he done?"

Rodney flinched at the brash and shaky exit of his best friend's words. He knew what to expect, he just hadn't expected it to be so amplified. "I phased in on John telling the others to get as far away from Jacob's house as they can. He's putting something into motion, something to get rid of everyone's scent."

Keegan's eyes narrowed, his body now shaking without any sort of defiance on his part. "Is that it?"

"Well," the smaller wolf drawled nervously. "no. Not exactly. It's Jeremy…. He, uh, he's go-"

"He's disappointed that his two favorite cubs have been so sneaky," Jeremy tsked arrogantly from the closest patch of trees. "Now Rodney, I was sure that an Alpha command wouldn't be necessary for either of you."

Rodney's eyes pinched shut. "Uh, sorry… Jeremy… I was just trying to-"

"Trying to fill him in, I know." Jeremy fully emerges from the tight gathering of trees, brushing leaves and twigs from his shoulders. "I figured he'd have you scouting for him."

"I'm right here," Keegan barks sharply. "What the hell is going on?"

"Now, son.."

"Don't call me that."

"Fine." Jeremy rolls his eyes, standing tall before the two of them. Both boys backed against the ledge of the Ravine. "_Keegan_. I've put my next plan into action. I'm sure you're familiar with everything that Nashoba and Tyrone had going. A ploy to kidnap the daughter of the Alpha, use her for their own putrid purposes… correct?"

Keegan nods, folding his arms.

"I devised the plan for them, helped them execute it. Unfortunately for them, they were too stupid to see the holes that I left. Jacob is far too smart to fall for anything so pitifully constructed, his pack is far too strong. Now, _my_ plan, on the other hand, is proportioned almost perfectly. I have no mind to divulge my intentions, but am now commanding you to keep your trap shut. You're not to breathe a word of this, either of you, to Jacob or any member of his pack when they come to you looking for answers. This is your assignment now: stay put. They'll come once they've returned, demanding that you know the truth, and you're just going to have to figure out how to live through the assault. Until then, I don't want you on our lands. As of tomorrow morning, the borders will be put back in place. A measure which will later be explained as precautions taken once the child of the neighboring Alpha went missing."

Keegan and Rodney gaped silently at their Alpha, both shocked and horrified at the implications. He turned his back to them and took a few steps towards the trees, his tongue clicking loudly against the roof of his mouth as he tilted his head back around to them.

"Stick to the plan, boys." He warned. "I would hate to see either of you dead, but _will_ see it done if you try and interfere."

Once his figure faded completely, the sounds of his wolf form disappearing, Keegan growled loudly. "You knew?"

Rodney blanched, taking several steps back. "No! No, no, no… you're not pinning this on me! I had no idea that they were planning on taking the girl… the plan all along had been passed around as some kind of fucking assassination attempt. Something to remove Jacob from his Alpha position."

"What do you think they're doing right now!" Keegan yelled, moving toward him. "He's meeting with the High Council for shit that doesn't make _any_ sense. Jeremy ratted him out, Jeremy made sure he was summoned." Keegan sighed heavily, running a hand down his face. "And put me all the way over here to make sure that I was too distanced to cause any problems when he found Hailey…"

Rodney nodded. "Sounds about right… but I _swear_ to you that nobody had so much as mentioned the girl up until today. Not until Jacob was gone."

"Oh well," Keegan deadpanned. "S'not much we can do now. Just wait for them to get back and try to live long enough to figure out a way to let them know what's happening."

"Sounds like such a wonderful plan," Rodney drawled. "What about the mom?"

Keegan sat down on the ledge, slumping. "No, she'll go after Hailey if she knows what happened. Something's up with her, she's not feeling well. I don't want her involved until Jacob gets home."

"Not feeling well?" Rodney's eyebrows raised skeptically.

Keegan shrugged and whispered, "pregnant, I'm assuming."

"Oh. Christ, does Jeremy know?"

"Doubt it. All the more reason to keep her out of it and away from any evidence leading her to him. You said they were sweeping the scents, right?"

"As far as I know, that's next on their agenda. Once she realizes Hailey is missing and decides to act on it, it should already be gone. I don't see any reason why she'd be allowed the clues unless Jeremy wanted her to have them."

"Let's hope that he doesn't," Keegan said quietly. "I don't know what he's up to but I don't see it panning out the way he thinks it will. Not unless…"

Rodney shook his head immediately. "He couldn't."

They exchanged a brief glance before returning their gazes elsewhere, both searching desperately for a way to answer the questions Jacob would surely ask. Neither having the ability to give them to him themselves, and nobody else aware of what was currently taking place.

* * *

She woke up groggily, her eyes fogged and head throbbing painfully. She'd had a fitful sleep, one that seemed to give her no rest. Feeling just as tired as she did when she laid down, Leah left the solace of her room and slowly made her way downstairs. The first floor wasn't completely bare; Emily and Sue both lounged on the couch and loveseat. Standing between the kitchen and living room, Leah glanced over to the pair and tilted her head.

"Is Hailey home?"

Sue looked up. "No, sweetie, not yet."

"Hmm."

Leah removed her cell phone from her short's pocket and was forced to reign in the worry that immediately leaped from her stomach to her chest. "What are you two doing up at two in the morning?" She turned to the two women.

"Couldn't sleep," Emily said through a yawn. "Didn't really want to be alone. Embry is taking care of the injured few…didn't have much else to do."

Sue shrugged. "What she said."

"Have either of you heard from anyone patrolling? Has anyone checked in?"

"It's been mostly silent," Sue answered. "Why? What's the matter?"

Leah's brows bunched together, her chest suddenly in a knot. "Nothing, nothing's wrong. I think I'm going to go out and stretch my legs, get some air."

Sue and Emily nodded hesitantly, Sue's voice trailing after her daughter as she exited through the back door. "Be careful!"

Once she heard the door close her finger instantly traveled to the 'send' button of her cell, Hailey's name and number painting the background.

_Hey, you've reached Hailey. Leave me your-_

"Dammit." She slaps the phone closed, only to open and try it again.

_Hey, you've reached Hailey.-_

Growling in frustration, Leah slaps the phone closed again and throws it back towards the house. Her eyes scanned carefully over the wood line for a moment, her nose and ears on high alert for anything out of the ordinary. There seemed to be nothing. With a disgruntled last look at the house, Leah moved briskly to the forest and stripped herself of her clothing. Once phased, her nose was put to the ground and she bounded in the direction of what she knew to be the place she and Keegan had met several times. Her paws pounded furiously against the earth, her vision tunneled and her senses focused solely on Hailey's quickly fading scent. It was when she reached the small opening that she realized the lack of… anyone inside the link their pack shared. She stood up strait, her ears pricked and eyes zoned in on where the borders used to be. Hailey's scent would lead her over it. Without second thought she pushed forward and found herself having to slow her pace inside of the unfamiliar territory. The trees were much thicker, the brush wilder. There were few paths, and no walking trails that she could pinpoint. The winding dirt divots, clearly made by the constant beating of paws, were barely visible below the overgrown vines and weeds. She was reduced to a cautious trot.

Crossing the border was the first warning sign, that much was clear. Jacob would never assign Hailey to Jeremy's lands. The lack of Keegan's scent from Jeremy's land, tracing all the way back to the original meeting place, however, had been a subtle confirmation. Leah rolled her eyes as she halted just outside of what she assumed to be Jeremy's reservation. It was quiet, and dark. There were few porch lights on and even fewer decent homes to be seen. Her eyes finally rested on a large, wood cabin, just beyond the rest of the rez homes. Lights shone from inside, shadows moving back and forth across the windows. She sighed. It was very rare that she felt nervous about a situation, very rare that she had doubts about anything she was about to do. This, however, was proving to be a sticky situation. Her thoughts traveled to Jacob, to the pack, and how easy it would be for her to call them and tell them about what's happening, where Hailey is. Her attention quickly diverted to her daughter, though, as a loud screech reverberated through the small area. She could hear thudding, pounding, coming from inside the surprisingly large building. Hailey's angry shrieks coming more frequently now.

Weighing her options, taking her current health situation into consideration, and knowing that she's outnumbered by an entire pack; Leah releases another growl of frustration. She has to go back. She cant break Hailey out on her own, even if it were only Jeremy and John, she'd be outmatched. Embry will know what to do. She closed her eyes, trying to block out her daughter's fitful yelps, and turned for home. Her eyes opened briefly, before a flash of black and silver swept across her vision and then everything went black.

* * *

Opening her eyes, Leah was stunned to feel something soft and unbelievably comfortable beneath her. The room was lit in a dim yellow, the corners still completely shadowed from the candles' constant flicker and lack of power. She sat up slowly, surveying everything as she did so through the haze that seemed to be hovering in the room, careful not to miss anything. Looking up, she noticed the draped canopy. The fine, almost transparent material surrounded her on the large bed. She pushed herself to remember what happened, to see what attacked her. All she remembered was black and silver. It was only a second, only a flash. She shook her head and dropped her gaze, now noticing the clothes. She'd been placed in a loose white cami, matching shorts. She scoffed. _How courteous_, she thought.

A loud rap on the door snatched her from her thoughts and forced her to stand. She folded her arms and stuck her chin out, refusing to seem intimidated.

"Glad to see you're awake," Jeremy said cheerily. "I was afraid that my brute of a lesser had killed you."

"Nice," Leah bit. "Thanks for your concern, but I think I'll be better once I'm home."

He closed the door fully and turned the lock. "Is your room acceptable? I wasn't sure what you liked. And the clothes fit you, I hope?"

_Barely. _"I want to go home," she said forcefully. "Now."

Jeremy's brows drew. "Is it not comfortable? There are others, if you wish to move."

"I don't want to move, I want to go home! What are you doing, anyway? When Jacob finds out about this he'-"

"He'll do nothing," Jeremy finished. "There's nothing he can do."

He was so calm, so sure, Leah had trouble finding grounds to argue. "What are you talking about? We're part of _his_ pack. Hailey is his daughter, I'm his-"

"Mate, I know." Jeremy chuckled. "You were anyway….well, I suppose you still are. But wont be for long."

Leah gaped. "You're fucking with me, right?" She laughed tightly. "You sound crazy, really. This has to be some kind of joke. You cant seriously think that he will sit back and let you do this without any sort of fight."

"Like I said, Leah, there's nothing he can do."

"Until he gets back," she protested.

"No," Jeremy said sweetly. "I mean ever. You're going to submit to me, accept me as your Alpha, and under those terms, Jacob can do nothing to get you back. Unless you willingly submit under him, but you know that I wont allow that once you're under my command."

She smirked. "Right, as if I'm going to just up and agree. You really are out of your fucking head if you think it'll be that easy."

She watched uneasily as he moved to the bed and took a seat on the edge, patting the space beside him. "Come, sit with me."

"No," she said defiantly. "I'm going home."

She didn't wait for an answer. Moving to the door, she began fiddling with the lock, unable to turn it far enough to release it. She strained against it, pulling and pushing until her attempts were so obviously wasted that she began beating on the door itself and yelling for someone to open it.

"Your yelling wont be heard, love."

She continued, slamming her fists harshly against the heavy wooden door and screaming out threats and profanities until she felt her body begin to lose what little energy it had. She turned on him then, livid and heaving.

"You're going to open this door and let me out _right now_ or I swear I'm going to-"

"What? Kill me? Beat me to death?" He laughed. "Oh you really are something. None of those threats hold any ground here, love. Your pack isn't around to back you up and I find your remaining confidence somewhat refreshing. Still, you aren't enough to kill me. Barely enough to wound me."

"I think I may surprise you," she said menacingly, her tone dropping a few degrees.

He smiled, a quiet 'hmm' heard before he sighed. "We both know that you wont fight me. Not now."

"And what makes you so sure?"

His eyes drifted from her face to her belly, his smile fading. "I think you know."

She froze, unable to keep the surprise from her face. "…. what are you talking about?"

He stood and moved to her until she was pinned against the wall, his hands slamming into the wall on either side of her head. "Enough of the games, Leah. I know that you're carrying his baby, and I know that he has no clue. You're going to accept me as your Alpha, or I'll be forced to make you. It's your choice."

She shook her head. "You wouldn't-"

"Oh I would," he confirmed. "I have no regards for the life of another Alpha's child, unless that child will be of use to me. As it stands, if you cooperate, I'll spare you any physical harm. If not, I wont hesitate to beat you into alliance."

She found herself at a loss for words, her eyes trained on his.

"What will it be?" he pushed.

After another brief silence, she heard the distinct cracking and twisting of bone and muscle, the wall behind her and floor below her shaking violently. She dipped below his manipulating form and moved to the opposite side of the room, the corner being the only place to go. No windows, no escape. She watched on in frustration as he finished his transformation and his wolf form stood before her, taking up the majority of the room. The bed had been pushed aside, two of the posts broken and sent flying. She stared at him, contemplating, as he moved forward, snarling and snapping.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she snarled. "You were supposed to be our friend, someone we could trust. Jacob _trusted_ you."

A deep, painfully loud growl erupted from his chest as he lunged forward, forcing her to act on instinct and phase. Their two large frames crowded the mediocre room and she felt herself basically cornered. She bared her teeth and snapped, warning him to stay away. Though she knew that neither had any effect on him. It was only a last ditch effort on her part in hopes that he'd change his mind, that there was another way. There didn't seem to be a way out of this one.

"_Submit_," he ordered.

He gave her little to no time before he closed his jaws around the side of her neck and slammed her entire body to the ground. She struggled to get away, the skin of her neck pulling and tearing between his giant teeth. She could hear herself whimpering slightly under the pressure his body was putting on her and suddenly thought of the point he'd made. She tried to get out from under him, to leave only her neck as the brunt of the force, but he knew better. He knew what she was trying to do, and then moved to situate himself directly above her, his full weight now pressing down on her chest and stomach. He slammed her face into the ground twice, lifting it again and hovering there.

"_Submit, or the next move I make will be irreversible._"

Leah struggled for a moment more, her frustrated and panicked barks and yaps echoing through the room. Finally, as she felt him pushing harder on her neck and stomach, she stilled.

"_Alright,_" she huffed, her breath ragged. "_Alright I submit, I accept you… whatever. Just get the hell off of me!_"

He released her almost immediately and phased back. He stood above her, an arrogant grin plastered on his face. "Good. Hailey has already been accepted in, you two will be together again soon. I think you need some time to cool off. Get those wounds tended. I'll send a medic in, he'll bring clothes. Good to have you with us, Leah." He moved to the door and worked the lock, then opened it. "You and I will make a wonderful Alpha pair."

She lay still, breathing heavily, watching him depart. She could hear him barking orders outside the door, the shuffling of feet vibrating against the ear still pressed to the ground. She didn't bother to phase back. Unfamiliar voices rang in her head, but none were who she was searching for. If she could contact Keegan somehow, she could get out of there. He'd help them. Knowing Jeremy, though, Keegan probably had no idea. She felt a sense of helplessness wash over her, her usual pair of options reduced now to none. How had Jeremy known? How had he known when not a single pack member of Jacob's noticed it? Not even Jacob himself?

Leah lay her head flush against the hard floor, allowing herself a brief moment of defeat. She may technically be in his pack now, but she wasn't going to make it pleasant. It was the least she could do. Even the cheery thoughts of making Jeremy's life miserable couldn't placate the desolate feeling creeping into her chest. She and Hailey were both Jeremy's now, and according to him, there was nothing Jacob could do. Not without breaking some sort of law or rule issued by the High Council. It all made sense now. It hadn't been Adam's pack that reported to them, it had been Jeremy. He brought them here, got them interested in how things were run so that when he started this shit, Jacob would be left with his hands tied. He'd be torn between his title as Alpha, his pack, and she and Hailey. She closed her eyes. It was a pretty good plan, well thought out. She may have given him some credit had she not been the one stuck in it.

"_Hey, mom." _Hailey's voice broke into Jeremy's link, a solemn and almost bored sound about her.

"_I see you've managed to get yourself into trouble… again." _

"_If you wanna get technical, I'm not the only one. You're just as stuck as I am._"

Leah sighed. "_Yeah, I am. You alright?_"

"_Eh, I'll live. You?_"

"_I've been better, but I think I'll be fine._"

There was a slight pause before Hailey spoke again, a little more cautious this time. "_I cant believe you didn't tell anyone._"

Leah groaned and rolled to her stomach. "_Shut up, I don't need you chastising me. I feel bad enough as it is now that we're trapped here with that lunatic. Get some sleep. I'm phasing out._"

Without another word Leah stood and phased back to her human form. She suddenly wished that she _had_ told Jacob. She'd wanted it to be something good, something positive and put out there at the right time. Something that would make him happy, not stressed. She'd spent almost her entire first pregnancy thinking up ways to tell him if he came back before they were born. Silly and creative ways to say more than, 'hey, I'm pregnant.' Some stayed in her memory, either dumb enough or funny enough that they had stayed on hand just in case. It had been wishful thinking at the time. Maybe a little denial lodged in there somewhere. Now, though, she'd had the opportunity to do it right. She was both anxious and excited to see his expression, take in that tiny moment of truth before he'd be able to mask it. If he was upset, she'd know. If he was disgruntled or angry, she'd know. And, of course, there was always the hopeful chance that he'd be happy, excited, something along those lines. She knew that being so hesitant about it was silly, maybe a little chicken shit on her part. Jacob had given her no reason to be other than his own personal issues. But it was just something she couldn't shake. And now he was going to find out by third party, Embry more than likely, when he comes home to no Hailey, and no her. Another pregnancy, another irreversible problem. The thought that she may actually be stuck here, to birth and raise she and Jacob's child under Jeremy, unsettled her. No, sickened her. The thought that maybe she should have actually _listened _to Jacob this time around crossed her mind. And left her with the regretful decision she made to stay, instead of go. Granted, if she had gone, Hailey would be here by herself. It may have been better if they had all gone, like Jacob insisted to begin with.

She shook her head of the thoughts and lay back on the bed, willing herself to sleep. If she had to be stuck here, she may as well replenish the little bit of energy she's had. God knows she had a long day ahead of her. Jacob would be home within the next two or three days. But until then, she and Hailey were on their own.

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**a/n. Almost to the end. :D Reviews please! **


	44. Astalavista

**a/n. - Just a forewarning: this chapter skips Leah and Hailey's stay at Jeremy's. I'll say this takes place about two days after Leah found herself in Jeremy's pack and now Jeremy is waiting on Jacob's first move. Some of you may find this a little… Idk… different than my other chapters that involve a lot of 'action' I guess you could call it. But I really liked the way this turned out. I was having trouble writing the next scene and, since I've written like 3 other chapters that are similar to what happens here, I decided to make it a little different. Hope you like it. =) **

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**It All Started With a Promise**

**By:Cucumber07**

**Chapter 44 - Astalavista**

In the three or four seconds it took for him to be slammed head first into that tree, he registered a bit of surprise. Not so much because he hadn't sensed anyone around, or because he'd been so entirely certain that his plan couldn't fail. No, truthfully, he just hadn't expected his _son_ to be the one digging his teeth into the side of his neck, pulling his still-human-form across the small meadow and, in a very un-son-like-fashion, launching him into previously mentioned tree. In fact, he had been _so_ surprised, that when he finally managed to stand, he didn't phase. He didn't freak out or explode into some kind of dramatic blind rage. Instead, all he could manage while gingerly pressing his fingers to his scalp was…

"What the _fuck_… is wrong with you!"

The blood was absolute. No doubt about it. It was real. Yes, Keegan had just attacked him. Yes, he was standing in front of him now, teeth bared, body seeming to be about four or five hundred pounds larger than the last time he'd surveyed. A few choice words slid to the tip of his tongue, kicked a little at the back of his teeth, tried their hardest to get out… but he couldn't really see past what was now staring him the face. Had he really pissed him off _that bad_?

"Is this really necessary?" he finally said, probably a little too on the nonchalant-ish side, considering the situation and how serious the kid looked. "Look, I'm sorry I had to drag your little girlfriend…"

His cheek caught the tree this time. Again, the blood was a definite. "Alright," he ground out through an almost swollen mouth, through blood and pieces of a… "you broke my fucking tooth."

He heard a snort, felt the kid moving around him, circling, watching. "You're making a mistake.." he said slowly, lifting his eyes to the very large, very angry wolf slinking around the side of him. "you don't want to do this, Keegan. You know it wont end well."

This time, he didn't wait for the attack to land. He phased, turned and caught Keegan mid-air, taking both of them to the ground. _"You know I'll kill you_."

Despite all the anger and resentment and maybe the slightest pinch of hate he could _feel_ pumping through the person beneath him, Jeremy remained cold. Easy, collected. And, strangely enough, Keegan remained silent. Completely. No curses or verbal reminders of every single reason why he despised him or every single reason he had to kill him. Nothing.

The kid didn't say anything, but he didn't take it lying down either. And Jeremy wasn't sure which one was worse. Words, he could understand. They did it all the time. He pushed and pushed and pushed until he could _see_ the anger hovering over him like some kind of oddly colored fog, following him around and keeping him just distanced enough to be useful. But this? They'd only done this one other time, and it had nearly been Keegan's head. Literally.

This time, however, seemed to be a little different. His eye, currently being drug across the ground, was point-in-fact. When he finally broke free of the hold Keegan managed to get on him, finally managed to get out of striking range, he hesitated.

"_Why are you doing this?"_

He'd hoped there would be an opportunity to talk him down, something he could say to spark that, _oh, this is how it is? My bad, we're cool_… but no answer at all didn't really elicit much of anything. And then he finds himself being rushed… _again_.

It took one more good knock to the head and the world seemed to tilt back into place. No more talk of _he's my son, maybe I should try and smooth this over_. No, that had been a silly notion. And when his teeth broke skin, when his paws ripped and pulled and shredded across fur and ground and whatever else they ran into; he remembered that he didn't care. The scuffle, as he would have referred to it before Keegan proved to be more than that, continued to shift. Upper hand went back and forth between the two so frequently that, to anyone watching, it wouldn't have been easily pointed out.

Jeremy didn't noticed through all of the growling and snarling and overall chaos that had broken out between them that they were moving in a pattern. That, despite his greatest efforts, Keegan was leading the fight and he was leading them somewhere specific. It had been a great plan on Keegan's part and would have worked.

And just as quickly as Keegan had initiated the whole ordeal, he lost control of it. Whereas they'd been moving where he wanted them to go, they were now at a stand still. Whereas he was dodging 99 percent of the blows, he was now taking them. He'd known coming into this that there was a near certain chance that they'd come to a head. That he wouldn't be able to keep them moving, that he wouldn't be able to keep Jeremy calm enough, confused enough, to avoid this head-to-head situation he now found himself in. Now that he was in it, there really wasn't much to be done other than… well… stay alive.

He saw the trunk right before his head hit, and Jeremy was on top of him just in time to collapse right along with the ground beneath them.

.

The air between himself and the door felt thick. Like it was slowly creeping up, trying to suffocate him. Maybe it wasn't the time to be nervous. Maybe his gut shouldn't have been tied in a thousand knots, yanking his heart back and forth between his throat and feet. His brain should have been focused on the task at hand, not spinning in circles around something that they would discuss when they got home. Still, pink and blue bundles, tiny feet and hands… they wouldn't leave his conscious thought alone and, honestly, it was a little confusing.

"Jake, we gotta go, Keegan's losing it."

Ah, right, _that's_ why he was supposed to be in a hurry.

The air that hit him upon opening the door was painfully cold, crisp and unforgiving. And it was just heavy enough to warn him when the chair came whipping around the back of the door, aimed at his head. He caught it, snatched it, threw it to the side. Her face when it peered around the door didn't seem all that surprised, but he thought maybe he'd given something away that he was supposed to keep a secret cause' she didn't make a move toward him either. She was looking at him with a weird kind of uneasiness, like she was waiting for him to say something specific. But he didn't say anything. Because words would ruin it; all that happiness he felt at seeing she's alright. So he smiled, a little hesitantly, and took her hand.

They phased almost immediately after exiting the house.

Leah _was_ surprised to see Hailey already waiting, her bright fur visible from a mile away, with Colin and Brady at the wood-line. She was even more surprised when they breezed past said wood-line, making a move for La Push, and that disgusting, metallic scent invaded her nostrils.

She looked to Jacob, then. _"What's going on_?"

He didn't get to answer.

"_Jacob the rest of them are showing up, what do you want us to do?_"

Their small group stopped a few yards away from the border, a dozen different scents appearing here and there and one or two of them were easily identified. He knew that getting out without some kind of confrontation was impossible seeing as Leah and Hailey technically weren't in his pack anymore, but their time frame was slowly disintegrating and, really, he just wasn't in the mood to fight. He wanted to go home. He wanted to turn around and ask Leah why the hell she hadn't told him before he left, why she didn't feel as if he had a right to know _before_ he left her arguably defenseless with a bunch of deceitful idiots roaming around.

"_I didn't want you to worry_," she cut in, brushing up beside him.

He snorted. _"Well that was a fail."_

Paul skidded to a stop in front of them.

"_I think you should come see this_."

Jacob nodded, a gruff noise rumbling through his throat. _"The rest of you spread out. If they engage, take em' out._"

"_We're on their land, Jacob. If the H -"_

"_I don't care,"_ Jacob sliced Sam's voice of reason before it could really take root. _"Just do it. We have to hold them off_."

"_You never answered me_," Leah said quietly as they followed Paul to whatever he suddenly found so important. _"What is going on?"_

Jacob wasn't stupid. When he came home and there was no Leah, no Hailey, no scents or sign of anything anywhere; he knew better than to think that someone outside of the immediate borderline was to blame. And he knew better than to think anyone other than Jeremy would be brave enough… _dumb _enough, to do something so absolutely insane. And when Keegan had confirmed his suspicions, he was happy to find that the kid had already come up with a plan. A good one, at that. One that was currently working in their favor as far as getting Leah and Hailey back into their possession, out of immediate danger. Only problem with said plan was the waiting game, waiting that was now working against them as far as the well being of the plan's brilliant mastermind.

"_You used him as bait!"_ Leah's voice suddenly erupted in his mind, a little more worriedly than he'd have thought. _"I cant believe you would let him do something so.. - so.. Stupid! Jeremy will __**kill**__ him, Jacob. You know that!"_

They would all wonder why Paul found that statement funny up until they cleared the last of the trees, stumbled across a big fat brawl that had previously only involved Keegan and Jeremy.

"_I don't think we need to worry about him anymore_."

Talon was like his father in many ways. He was easy on the eyes, as some would frequently remind him. His personality really had no bounds as far as kindness and, for the most part, selflessness was concerned. Helping people was like second nature for him. He'd always been that way, as long as anyone could remember. But there was a point, as there was for any brother that had a sister, in which that brotherly instinct would step in and cause problems where there shouldn't be any. Being protective, it was just another trait he acquired from his father, his grandfather, hell, even his mom. But he'd done his snooping, he'd seen all he needed to see, learned all he needed to learn, and there was no doubt left in his mind after realizing that Keegan… well, he wasn't the enemy.

So stumbling across Keegan and Jeremy, locked jaws ripping at the other's throat, a game that nobody would win given that it lasted for any long period of time; he couldn't just walk away. And when he watched the ground fall out from under them, both of them hit the ground and Jeremy, being bigger, stronger, the more experienced of the two, taking the opportunity to regain control over the fight; he couldn't just watch while he tore Keegan apart. If anyone asked him later, he'd say he did it for Hailey. That he knew how she felt about the kid, that she didn't deserve to find him dead in the dirt, alone and having done it for their family. The guilt would obviously eat her alive, and he couldn't have any of that.

Jeremy didn't even have a chance to blink before Talon was on him, giving Keegan room to breathe. And when he regained some of his thought process, when his vision cleared enough for him to realize that Talon had just saved his life, he launched himself forward and the two began leading, if not dragging, the older wolf through the woods in the direction Keegan had originally been trying to take them. They'd come to another stand-still here in this small field, Jeremy's panic for his life having given him a bit of an extra boost.

Jacob blinked once, cleared the surprise from his eyes, and refocused on the two Jr. Alphas giving an Alpha, senior even to him, more than a run for his money. They hadn't sent Keegan in to kill Jeremy, the task would have been impossible for him, even adding in his size and the more-than-most experience he had for his age. Jeremy had conditioned the kid to a point that Jacob would have considered cruel, but even that wouldn't have prepared him to kill his own father. Not on his own, anyway.

"_That's the craziest thing I've ever seen_," Embry said, trotting up beside Jacob.

"_Stop them,_" Leah cut in. "_That's enough. We can keep him under control from here_."

Jacob hesitated, unsure of which move would best benefit them. If he was dead, his threat would die right along with him. But then again..

"_Don't let him kill the only family he has left_."

He turned his head a little, glanced at Leah. _"He hates him. Look at what he's done to him._ _His whole life has been nothing but sadness because of him. He's not a father. He's barely an alpha._" He paused, looked back at the madness that was the three wolves in the middle of the red-splattered clearing. "_He doesn't deserve to get out of this alive_."

"_And that kid doesn't deserve to spend the rest of his life reliving the moment he killed his father._"

Jacob nodded, let out a breath.

"_Talon.." _he said in that voice that was so _alpha_ it made Leah cringe beside him. _"That's enough. Back off._"

He did, and realized just how hard they'd been going at it when he was still for a few seconds. His breathing was coming in short, hard pants, his body shaking with adrenaline. His eyes lifted from the ground to the other two wolves, still tearing at each other, both their eyes glowing a bright, identical green-gold.

"_They're not gonna stop_," Keegan said to Jacob, easing himself to the ground. _"I was in their head for a few minutes and it aint pretty._"

Jacob nodded, phased back to human.

He could hear Embry and the others whining, yapping at him as he inched closer to the slowing mess of violence. Keegan wouldn't understand him if he tried talking to him as his wolf. And Keegan was the more level-headed of the two, the only one that, if either, could be talked down.

"We got it from here, kid," he said loudly, jumping out of the way as he slammed Jeremy back into the ground. "That's enough."

He looked for any sign of hesitation… found none.

"Let the plan go through," he tried again. "We don't need anyone to die today."

He wasn't sure if he was even talking to Keegan anymore, if there was any _Keegan_ to be found behind all the wolf that was showing itself now. He knew how it felt, to get lost beneath all of the instinct and the _need_ to complete whatever you've started. And he knew exactly what the kid's instinct was screaming at him now.

"I made you a promise," he said while backing away, noting their advancing movements. "I intend to keep it but this wasn't part of the deal. C'mon…. let's walk away from this in one piece."

It felt like talking to a brick wall. Like he wasn't really saying anything at all. His words felt empty, meaningless. Maybe because he understood. Maybe at 19, where Keegan was now, he couldn't imagine walking away from a chance at changing things. Maybe coming back from the war, a different person, having lost everything he ever loved, reminded him a lot of Keegan's life. Of phasing and then his world turning upside down. Everything he loved and thought to be important being ripped away. Lies and deceit and a continuous circle of violence and hate and the feeling of absolute endlessness. It was pathetic, how much Jeremy had put him through. It was disgusting, how he could let his son grow up the way he did, and not be slightly impressed with how differently he turned out compared to the rest of their pack. How he couldn't be proud of him after all he'd endured.

In the end, it wasn't Jacob that stopped the fight, despite all the talking down he tried to do. When it all stopped, when the dust cleared, it was just sheer exhaustion that had kept Jeremy alive. It was the back and forth, up and down….the absolute endlessness that made Keegan stop, that made him step away from his father's limp body in the middle of that small field. And when he fell to the ground, head rested in the dirt, he didn't bother to phase. He didn't want to deal with words and expressions and pretending that everything was okay when, in reality, right now, _nothing_ was okay.

Sam's howl was the first indication that things were winding down. Nobody moved, though. Nobody said a word. What was there to say? Jacob didn't have any soothing words for Keegan, who's father, a father that never loved him for more than just a tool in his world of dysfunction, was lying nearly lifeless a few inches away from him. Leah didn't have any special phrase to offer up as an ice-breaker for her son, who was staring sympathetically across the clearing to his newly-acquired friend. Or her daughter, standing somewhere close to Talon, trying to blink the emotions away from her eyes. Not because she'd lost anything, but because the person that had just helped save their lives, was about to lose _everything_. The emotion was contagious because as soon as Rodney stepped cautiously from the trees, Leah could see it sliding down his furry cheek. She could see the loss already spreading through the air to the ones that had stopped fighting, the ones inching toward their fallen alpha. To his broken son.

"Jake," Sam said firmly, showing himself for the first time since Leah left Jeremy's house. "They're here."

"_Who is here?_" Leah asked Embry, her eyes still traveling over the group of wolves standing purposelessly around Jeremy and Keegan.

"_The High Council_," he said grimly. _"Keegan called them before we came here. Made a ton of accusations that they simply couldn't ignore. Told them to meet him here, he'd have Jeremy waiting._"

A very uncomfortable ten minutes pass by before Tammy steps through a pair of wolves standing side by side, her high heels sticking in the mud, her face pulled into an irritated frown.

"Well, Mr. Black, I see you've managed to put yourself right back in the middle of a sticky situation."

He shrugged, folded his arms. "He asked for help. What was I supposed to do?"

"Of course," she said with disinterest, fingering a few pieces of paper in her hand. "I take it that's Jeremy." She nodded toward the large wolf, raised a brow. "I need more than just Keegan's statement. Anyone here currently assigned in his pack; if you will kindly step forward and consent to this young man's allegations… we'll be glad to take Jeremy away."

The silence was heavy, irritating to someone like Keegan, who had just put his neck on the line in the hopes that his 'brothers' would help him out in the end.

"Anyone?"

Tammy's pointy little face fell when the first wolf phased, stepped forward. Beau, they'd later realize, was his name. "I, what was it you said?.. Consent?"

His smile was mocking, challenging.

Four wolves would step forward after that, all with the same answer Beau gave. And then another four after that. Eventually, they'd all have agreed, and Tammy was pissed.

"Right, well, thank you all so very much," she sneered, snapping her fingers to some invisible people behind her. "Since he'll no longer hold the title of alpha, who is eligible to step up in his place."

Attention returned to Keegan, who was only just pulling himself to his feet. He hobbled over to the woods, disappeared for a few minutes, a very boring few minutes, and returned with shorts and a ton of painful looking injuries.

"I don't want it," he said to an equally irritated looking Tammy.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm the only one here that can take it, and I don't want it."

"You'll forsake this entire reservation?"

He shrugged. "It cant get much worse than it already is. I'm sure they'll all thank me later."

Tammy's frown deepened and she let out a very righteous sounding huff. "Fine. You'll all have to dress and come with us. Jacob you know the deal. If you're interested in any of them the placement will begin first thing in the morning. Distribution of the land will be made equally between yourself and neighboring alphas. See you then."

Jacob and his watched on silently as the other wolves spread out, returned with tattered clothes, then began filing in behind Tammy's goons. Keegan stood still, visibly still having trouble with his human form, watching as the others prepared themselves to leave. Jacob moved toward him, followed by the rest of his pack, watched as he refused to make eye contact.

"You alright?"

"Everything'll be fine," was his hoarse, clipped answer.

"Okay, but are _you_ gonna be alright?"

Keegan hesitated, tried to reign in the shaking and the trembling and all that damn emotion he felt tugging at his calm. "I'll be fine."

Jacob sighed, nodded. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah, see ya."

It was obvious that he didn't believe him. That he held no conviction in the deal they'd made earlier, the promise or the hope that Jacob had unintentionally instilled in he and a few others. There was no point in trying to argue the point, to try and reassure him. Keegan wasn't a person you used words on. Actions, on the other hand, spoke volumes. And Jacob had every intention of holding up his end of the bargain.

"So I guess we head out with those big lugs?"

Jacob smiled at Rodney. "Yeah, for now. I'll be there in the morning with the rest of the alphas. We'll deal with the living arrangements."

"Wonderful." He looked over his shoulder, grimaced at the large men surrounding Tammy. "They look soooo nice."

Jacob's smile held as he watched Rodney's expression shift from sarcasm to absolute horror.

"This isn't going to be like jail, is it?" He looked back to Jacob. "I'm not cut out for that kind of life! Unless I bunk with this guy," - he motioned toward a still silent Keegan - "he'll take care of me."

A few of the wolves snickered behind Jacob, Leah included, until Talon and Hailey returned from the woods, fully dressed.

"So what was the deal?" Talon asked, moving to stand in front of Keegan and Jacob. "What happens now?"

"I'm gonna request Rodney and Keegan be transferred to our pack," Jacob answered solemnly. "In return for their help."

"So they come with us?"

Keegan snorted. "Like it'd be that easy."

Talon raised a brow.

"Jacob'll have to go through a sort of an auction for us. Each alpha will get a turn to pick."

Hailey pulled a face. "Uhh.. So, how are you gonna get Rodney _and_ Keegan?"

"Rank determines who goes first," Jacob clarified. "And I go first. Once I get Keegan, nobody will want Rodney… no offence…"

Rodney shrugged. "No problem. It's the truth."

Not much more was said after the last of the wolves disappeared through the trees, headed toward La Push. Keegan and Rodney hung back with Jacob and the silence reigned on through the walk until Jacob's house was in sight and the rest of the pack joined them in the back yard.

"Well… if I don't see you guys tomorrow, then maybe I'll see ya again sometime," was what Rodney called over his shoulder as he trotted toward the several cars waiting for their pack.

"Hey, Keegan?"

Keegan paused, turned a little.

"Thanks for everything," Jacob said gruffly, a little awkwardly.

"No problem."

Talon met him at the front of the house, folded arms and a smug look. "So I guess I'll be seeing plenty of you from now on?"

"Maybe," Keegan conceded, shrugging. "I'll be sure to write if it doesn't work out that way. I realize how difficult it'd be without me."

Talon laughed, short and forced. "Thanks, though, really."

"What're you thanking me for? I'd probably be dead if it weren't for you."

"Yeah, well, you didn't have to do what you did…. We'll just call it even."

He didn't say bye to Talon, just a small wave. He didn't say bye to Leah, either. Or Sue or Rachel or any of the other imprints or pack members for that matter. He thought of saying something to Hailey, just in case, but the point would be arguable at best. He'd had enough goodbyes. Had enough of the longing for something different, the wishes people wore on their faces when they wanted something else to have happened. For things to have turned out better. Hailey would've been too difficult. Because, despite everything, and himself, he'd miss her if he didn't come back. He'd remember her face and her voice and her scent. He'd remember and she'd forget and he wouldn't hold it against her because that's what she was supposed to do. He'd lost enough to know when something really mattered, when it was special or when it meant more than it probably should have to him. She was one of those things. And if he did come back….well….he'd pretend that he knew it all along. Like he actually believed that Jacob could come through and bring him back.

He shut the car door and didn't look out the window when they passed Jacob and his pack.

.

He watched her watching him from across the room with the same unreadable expression he'd been sporting all night. Rachel and Emily and Kim surrounded her at the kitchen table, all gushing about the newest member of their pack. They all had to feel the barely there bump that you wouldn't notice unless you were _really_ looking for it, all had to kiss and rub and stick their ears to it and blubber about how lucky she is. She answered their questions and looked to them as if she were just as into the conversation as they were. But he knew better. Her eyes never left him, in that talented way that she somehow picked up when they were younger.

"Where's Talon?" Colin asked from beside him.

"He's in his room, probably asleep. He had a pretty rough day."

"Yeah, I saw. What did Carlisle say?"

"He'll be fine, just banged up. Nothing too serious."

Colin shifted slightly, trying to hide how uncomfortable he was with his next question. "What about Keegan? Is he alright?"

Jacob sighed. "I don't know. They wouldn't tell me anything when I called earlier. Said I could figure all that out when I arrive tomorrow."

"I'm sure they'll take care of him," Sam assured from the couch. "They cant let anything too bad happen to them, they're up for distribution tomorrow."

"That sounds so sick," Embry grumped, rolling a little on the floor. "Like sellin' off pieces of property."

Quil snorted. "Agreed."

He saw her move, let his eyes follow her across the floor until she was standing directly in front of him, smiling. When he leaned forward, took her hand, pressed his lips to the material on her belly; she tried to stifle the giggle that threatened to spill over. God forbid someone hear her _giggle_. That would just be devastating. But she hadn't expected him to be like this. Hadn't really had much to go on in that department, but would have _never_ suspected that he'd be so… so… -

"Let's go upstairs."

She nodded, felt him press into her back as they climbed the stairs, closed her eyes when he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her as close as she felt was possible.

In some kind of strange out-of-character-moment, she felt the need to apologize. She turned to look at him, closed her eyes when his lips brushed across her nose, her cheek, her ear. She melted a little when his hands slid under the hem of her shirt, when his fingers massaged the skin at her hips, the small of her back, traced lines up her spine. She was mush by the time he lifted her, slowly eased her onto the bed, his mouth doing something astonishing with her neck.

Her lips parted, her head lolling back the slightest bit. "I'm sorry."

There, she said it.

"Forgiven."

Her brows lifted, eyes still closed. "That easy?"

He lifted his head, then, his fingers brushing away small strands of hair from her face. "I vote clean slate."

He arched his body a little, slid his hand back to her stomach, rested his palm there. "Nothing else should matter anymore, anyway."

And then she let herself sink with every touch, every kiss, every breath. He was all over her, and she was content. She forgot about being stuck at Jeremy's, about the fight Talon involved himself in, about Keegan and everything she hoped happened with him. She let herself sink, and fell asleep under the comfort and easiness and idea that, maybe, things would be alright.

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**a/n. Kay, so, this one took forever, I know. And I will admit that some of it was just me being unproductive. But, overall, I was just irritated with my stories. I went back and reread and I didn't really like what I was reading. So it made writing new chapters EXTREMELY difficult. I'm working on the last few chapters of this now so there shouldn't be another lengthy hiatus. Thanks to everyone reading, pleaseeee take the time to review. ^-^ **

**Loves! **


	45. Ten Little Fingers, Ten Little Toes

**a/n. This chapter jumps forward a bit, and continues to do so until the end of the chap. I labeled it, of course, I was just letting you know. Again, I did it a little different. Each month will have little scenes, for the most part it'll be one pertaining to Leah and Jacob and one to let you know what's going on with everyone else. Don't skim, cause you wont understand. Lol. There are little details in there that you have to look for. Thanks for reading. If you get confused for whatever reason, just ask and I'll clear it up. =] And please keep in mind that I plan to address everything before the story actually ends, so if there are some un-touched topics in here just remember that there's another chapter or so. Tanks. :)**

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**It All Started With a Promise**

**By: Cucumber07**

**Chapter 45 - Ten Little Fingers, Ten Little Toes**

_Four months._

_._

She'd wondered a few times, like when he left without saying a word to her, if she'd imagined the last few weeks. How easy their relationship was, how strangely content she felt with him. And then he came back, exactly the same as she remembered him. If any of what happened bothered him, he wasn't letting anyone in on it. She could have pushed, went into irritating-sister-mode like she did when Talon was withholding information from her, but she figured he deserved some privacy on the matter. She'd thought that maybe him being in the pack would make things easier for him, that he'd fall in love with La Push the way that everyone did when they visited. But he withdrew into himself, to a point that even Rodney was worried. He was restless, his wolf was restless. He needed something. Something that she couldn't give him. Something Jacob and La Push and this new life just didn't have. He still pretended, though. For her, maybe, if not everyone else.

They were together more often than not, and she liked who he was when he was with her. But she could see it, lingering behind the jokes and fake laughter and half-told stories. The distant set of his face, the far away look in his eye. It was all accumulating to something, all leading him somewhere she couldn't follow. If she could have taken a peek inside his head, figured out for herself what was bothering him and given the opportunity to fix it without confronting him, she would have. But, of course, that wasn't the case. Sitting around and doing nothing wasn't exactly acceptable either, though, and that's exactly why she called him, asked him to meet her at the river.

"Hey," he greeted, plopping down beside her on the bank.

She thought it best not to waste time.

"What's been bothering you?"

He sniffed, ran his fingers through the dirt. "I think I need to leave for a while."

"Why?"

Her nose scrunched when she asked because, despite Talon's teasing, she wasn't the needy type. And that one word, to her at least, sounded horrifyingly, disgustingly needy. She shook her head in the silence, glanced at his smiling face.

"It's not you, if that's what you're over there thinkin' up. I'm just… I cant seem to sit still. Everything is over, settled, but I cant let it go. My mind just keeps running in the same circles, bringing me back to the same problems. God, if I knew how to tell you… I would." He paused, narrowed his eyes. "I hate what my life was. I hate everyone that was ever in it. Not because I'm just bitter and cold and don't want any family… of course I want family, I mean, who doesn't? But they sat back and watched him destroy me and never even _thought_ to lift a finger."

She started to speak, to remind him that he's not broken. He's not helpless and weak and shattered because of what Jeremy did. He's strong, and he's hers, and he has a family here with them. But she didn't have to, his eyes shone that bright green-gold, and his face was littered with amusement.

"I know what you're thinking, and you're right. You guys are my family." He scooted closer, kissed her shoulder, rested his forehead in her neck. "But they used to be, and I need them to know that I'm alright. That I don't _need _them. That I turned out just fine and that I'm nothing like him."

"They don't deserve that much," she grumped, her lip curling a little over her teeth.

He laughed. "Yeah, I know. But I was never one for loose ends, and I've left a lot of them here and there."

Her head dropped to his hair and all those reasons she'd had for him to stay a few minutes before seemed to die on her tongue. "Then you should go."

"I've already cleared it with Jacob," he whispered into her ear, tugging her into his lap. "I'm not sure how long I'll be gone, but it's not permanent."

Her nose tickled his neck, her hand glanced across his shoulder, slid up the other side into his hair. "Will you call me?"

Fingers traced her spine, a hand gripping her bare thigh, lips pressed against her jaw. "Of course."

And then something occurred to her, another one of those needy feeling questions swimming around behind her teeth. But her mouth lived up to it's reputation and threw her under the bus anyway. "Will you see anyone else?"

He hid his smile in her ear, raked his teeth across it for good measure. "I'll see lots of people, I'm sure."

She pulled away a little, frowned. "You know what I mean."

He fell back and pulled her down on top of him, let his hands weasel up under her shirt. "You know I wont."

"Promise?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I promise. As long as you don't either."

"Pfft. How is that fair?"

He kissed her, she forgot what they'd been talking about, and all was right in the world once again.

.

Her eyes drift from the wall in front of her to the browning around the pancake, finally to his hands that are slowly skimming across her stomach. She lets her head fall back to his shoulder, lets him take on all her weight cause, well, he's a shape shifter and what the hell are they for, anyway?

"How you feelin' today?"

She thinks that maybe she shouldn't get so excited when he asks her these questions. That maybe she shouldn't think so much of it when he touches her stomach _every_ time he passes by, or the way she always wakes up to him in front of her, hugging her so gently to him, so damn protectively, that she has to force herself to break away because it just feels _so good_. Yeah, she's considered the possibility that these feelings are hormone induced, that it's all that pent up _'I wish I'd have had this the first time around_', and the fact that she _didn't_ have it the first time around. But it still doesn't make her feel any better when she turns to mush _every_ time something like this happens. And… how was she supposed to give him a decent answer when he was rubbing on her like that?

"I.. - I'm .. it's all good."

He smiled, lifted her shirt over the bump that wasn't so barely-there anymore, let his palms lay flat against it. "Let's eat, so we can get going."

But he didn't eat. He inhaled. And when she was finished with hers he was already at the door, keys in hand, foot tapping against the floor impatiently. There was that crooked smile, the one she, at one point, thought she'd never see again. The light was back in his eyes, the pep in his step, the playful, dorky, _Jacob_. And it made her suspicious.

She stopped across the kitchen from him, put a hand on her hip. "You realize that we aren't supposed to be there for like… another two hours, right?"

He grinned. "Don't be silly, Carlisle would love it if we were early."

She'd planned on staying rooted to her spot. Maybe trying out that _I'm putting my foot down, don't fuck with me_, tactic. And it took him all of ten minutes to realize she wasn't coming out, strut back in, pick her up and carry her out to the car. She didn't bother fighting much. He was stronger; she knew it, he knew it. So what was the point? Besides, she got a free ride over all those few feet she'd have had to walk. And, well, she was tired. Give her a break, alright?

"Why do you keep smiling like that?"

He glanced over at her, shrugged. "So I'm a little excited. Sue me."

She turned her attention out the window, tried to hide that stupid grin that kept showing back up, making her look all goofy and girlish. But it would stick to her lips and make her blush for the first time in, like, forever when she walked through the doors to the Cullen Manor and got the oddest looks from both Rosalie and Alice.

"I don't wanna hear it," she hissed toward the two as they passed and ignored the way they completely ignored her and laughed all too boisterously.

"Ready?"

Leah rolled her eyes at Carlisle and his peppiness. She rolled her eyes at Miss Pixie and Miss Scowl when she passed again and caught them staring at her stomach. She rolled her eyes at Jacob, doubly so, when he wiggled his eyebrows as she laid back onto one of the lush, gigantic bed that she prayed wasn't one of the women's downstairs. And, eventually, she'd roll her eyes at herself for getting all emotionally unstable when Carlisle printed out a few pictures and handed them off to a beaming Jacob who promptly made a beeline for the door so that he could get a jumpstart on showing them off. She stared at the pictures in her lap, one brow raised, while they made the drive home and couldn't for the life of her remember being this happy the last time she started her monthly checkups.

Carlisle was much more equipped to deal with her pregnancy than the last doctor, she decided. Not in the sense that her last doctor was untrained or inexperienced. Just that Carlisle knew what she was, knew what to look for, had spent all these years with the wolves trying to figure out exactly how their bodies worked and, according to him, he'd gotten a pretty good idea on most of the previously unanswered questions. With his 'findings', came a better understanding of reproduction, of her body, and of… how had he put it? Gestation?

"So the gender isn't gonna be a secret is it?" Jacob glanced at her, grinned. "Cause we both know I suck with secrets…. And there's no way I'm gonna let Carlisle get by without telling me."

Leah snorted, traced a finger over what Carlisle estimated to be the head. "Of course not. It was a surprise last time. I think I've lost some of my patience over the years cause I'm just not as willing this time around."

Lost patience or, maybe, she just didn't have the same drive. There's no more thinking that next week he'll be home and then, because he really _does_ suck with secrets, he'd force the doctor to tell him. Or that she'd hear from him, even just a text message, and she'd find out just so she could see his face when he saw her swollen stomach, when she told him that he was having a little boy or little girl… or both. There was no more waiting. And she savored every single second of it. Of the calm and the easiness and the excitement she could see crackling behind the browns of his eyes. It was exactly how she used to like to imagine it would be… maybe a little better because it was real and she could turn her head at any given second and he'd be there, not just a thought or a wish or, in some cases, even a prayer.

All the things she'd been comparing to her last pregnancy were chunked out the window when they showed everyone the pictures that night at dinner. Somewhere between the way he sat beside her, so at ease and supportive, and the way their entire family, related or not, were participating in the examination of the tiny little blob-on-paper; she felt like she may finally cry. Sure, she could chock it up to hormones. But it would feel too much like a lie. Because, no matter how she'd explain it to everyone else, she was almost certain that she was just being a sap. So she let her eyes get all watery, let him notice because, really, what was the point in trying to hide it? He'd probably smell her friggin' tears or some _only a wolf_ thing like that. And when he pressed that tiny little kiss to that tiny little tear slipping out the corner of her eye, she let all those doubts and worries and whatever else she'd allowed to stress her out since she remembered that, oh, yeah, they were screwing again and apparently neither of them learned from the last time, slip from her mind.

.

_Six months._

_._

Jacob wasn't very good with words. Given that sometimes, on a good day, he'd say the perfect thing to ensure that Leah would be in a good mood for the rest of the week; that was about as far as his verbal talent stretched. And he supposed he did alright with the whole discipline thing. But that was different. That was like his job cause he was alpha and, well, what the hell was the alpha for if not to scold and correct and guide? That was what he'd gotten used to. Pack matters, pack guidance, pack….

"So what do you think, Jake?"

Jacob glanced at Jared, suppressed the need to tuck tail and run. Of course, pack also meant family-of-sorts because they'd been together for so long now….they were just as much family as they were his lackeys. His friends. His brothers..

"You need to know, Alex, that we're all really disappointed in you," Sam spoke up in Jacob's silence, frowning. "With everything that's going on, we wanted to wait to decide on this until after things settled down. And now that you've given us your reasons, I cant say that it makes things any better."

And how exactly are you supposed to tell your brother that you'd rather choke down your own puke than allow his daughter to remain in your pack because, oh I don't know, she nearly got _your_ daughter _killed_? He'd thought maybe she had a good reason. She'd been threatened or provoked or _something_ other than, how had she put it? She was… _confused?_ She was…_jealous_? He'd heard some stupid excuses in his life, seriously, he'd been dealing with some really fucked up people since his return to La Push but _this_? This was just flat out selfish. And what use could he have for a selfish person in his pack?

He let his eyes glance over the room, over the rest of the pack and the imprints and his own kids that seemed as if they wanted to take a few shots at the girl sitting in the middle of the room. He settled on Leah cause she was giving him that weird smile, the one she'd only just recently started throwing his way. Eventually, after a few moments of quiet, he had to look away. She was going to make him smile or laugh or something else he wasn't supposed to be doing right now. It was distracting, having her around when he was supposed to be focused on something else. The way her finger moved up and down her stomach. A reminder that, if he were to put his hand there, he'd feel their little no-name bumping around, kicking and rolling and…

"_Jacob!_" Embry hissed, pushing an elbow into Jacob's rib.

"Right." Jacob cleared his throat. "Since Hailey is my daughter, and I cant help but feel personally shot by this whole ordeal… I'm gonna put it to vote. Normally, if it were just any normal member of the pack, I'd throw em' out. Period. But since you're a kid and kid's are idiots, I'm gonna offer up a suspension of sorts. Temporary but _I_ decide when you'll be able to rejoin us."

He ignored Talon scoffing and Paul rolling his eyes and Brady giving her a glare to rival some of the worst he'd seen. Because, really, he'd expected it. He knew they'd all still be pissed at her, even though nobody has treated her any differently since everything went down. They did it for Jared, if not for their own benefits because, expectedly, it would cause fights if they were to be assholes and voice their honest opinions. Jared may not agree with what she did, but he'd defend his daughter. So he continued to ignore them and looked to Sam, then Embry, then Paul… so on, so forth until he got what he needed and stood when he had their answer.

"I guess being an idiot kid worked in your favor. I'll let you know when you're able to come back. Until then, I'd be nice if I were you."

She didn't say anything. He hadn't really expected her to because, well, he didn't know many people that _would _have if they were in her position. Still, he'd have appreciated a thank you, maybe. A nod. A small smile. But no, she just got up and walked out the front door. He chalked it up to embarrassment because she _was_ seventeen and, let's face it, seventeen year olds are notorious for being easily embarrassed. He'd never admit allowed that maybe having everyone present for the conversation wasn't exactly _necessary_, but he wouldn't deny that he'd found it the slightest bit amusing. So what if he was a grown man, a wound is a wound and she'd inflicted a few. It was only right that he got her back at least a _little_.

When everyone cleared out, leaving him with only his three still sitting in the same spots they'd been in since breakfast, he raised a brow. "What's up?"

"She didn't deserve another chance," Talon grumped, letting out a loud huff. "She shouldn't be allowed back in this pack."

Jacob plopped down next to Leah, let her arm curve around his neck, let his head fall to her stomach. "Yeah, well, we have to consider Jared somewhere in there. I'd have just as happily canned her ass, but he's been with me since the beginning and he would have been upset if I let her go without a second thought."

"Shouldn't matter. She almost got us all killed."

Leah snorted. "She's a teenager, just like you two, and please don't try to tell me that you guys aren't just as dramatic about stuff. She made a mistake, give her a break."

"A mistake?" Talon's face was strained, his muscles tensed. "Break a plate, that's a mistake. Screw up the last play of the game, that's a mistake. But something like _that_? She was jealous and stupid, she knew what she was doing."

"Well, it's done. So there's no point in complaining about it. Shouldn't you be worried about that homework sitting on the kitchen table, anyway?"

He rolled his eyes, but was tugging Hailey along with him as he crossed the room and started on said homework. The most god-awful thing to have ever been created, if you asked him. They'd adjusted pretty well to the High School on the reservation, pretty quickly, too. They made friends and were able to transfer sports, kept their grades and, hell, maybe they were even doing a little better. Still, homework was the Devil and neither of them would ever be convinced otherwise.

.

"I say it's a girl," Jacob insisted, fiddling with the frays of his jeans.

"That's your opinion," Leah told him, shifting uncomfortably on the bed. "You're entitled to yours, I'm entitled to mine. And I say it's a boy."

He rolled his eyes playfully and leaned forward, picked her hand up, kissed her knuckles. "Wanna bet on it?"

She knew better. Honestly, she did. Making a bet with Jacob, with any of the stupid guys that would forever torture her, was a very _bad_ idea. No matter the wager, they always won. And you never realize it until _after_ you've won and then somehow, through some fucked up loop hole, they're still getting something that they wanted. Still, his lips were _so_ amazingly soft grazing along the top of her hand, up her wrist, all over her arm… - And then those eyes…

"Terms?"

He smiled at her breathy tone, laughed quietly at her eyes fluttering shut. His lips were at her shoulder when he answered. "I win; I get to choose the name. You win; you get to pick _and_ I'll do all the work when it comes time to paint and decorate the room. No arguments, no dispute. You get to be in charge."

She smirked. "Done."

….

"Am I allowed an _I told you so_?"

His smile made her want to punch him, and that smug little tone made her want to do it more than once. She rolled her eyes and scooted farther away from him on their bed, made sure she was turned as far away from him as possible. Even gave a little _'humph'_, just for good measure.

She was positive she heard him deflate.

"Hey," he whispered, pressing into her back. "I was just kidding…"

She didn't answer. Didn't look cause, well, that didn't seem to be working in her favor as of late. His face had regained that innocent edge that he would promptly use to his advantage given a situation called for it. And this was one of those situations and she felt as if she had a right to be irritated with him and his stupid betting terms.

"Leeeee," he whined, very child-like. "You can still pick the name if you want. And I'll still do all the work if you don't want to do it… you can just pick the stuff and I'll…"

She blocked him out at about that time because her smile was too wide, too full, making her ears ring from the pressure. Maybe he noticed because he didn't continue on much further after that and was trying to weasel his head over her shoulder to see her face. When he decided she was making it a little harder than it should have been, he got up, moved around the bed, pushed her to her back without much protest on her part. She was laughing by the time he found her eyes.

His narrowed. "You did that on purpose."

"I like these new terms," she mumbled through laughter. "I think we have a deal."

Of course she'd known from the beginning that, eventually, her terms would reign supreme. Jacob was the alpha of the pack, the boss in La Push, the guy that nobody really wanted to mess with if they could help it. But he was also the biggest sap alive when it came to one Leah Clearwater, and she knew it better than anyone.

.

_Seven months._

_._

Had they really invited _this many people_? He was almost positive that, no, they hadn't. Somewhere along the line they'd acquired about thirty-odd more than he'd first counted out and now his backyard was full of people he recognized, but really wasn't all that comfortable with. He knew Embry was bringing Erika. Which was fine because she was part of their gigantic, overbearing family now, and seemed to fit right in. But it wasn't the guest's guests… it was the people they hadn't anticipated on coming but, for whatever reason, felt inclined to invite anyway. Like Kim's sister and cousin and maybe her mother, he wasn't sure. Or Emily's family. Or Sam's, for that matter. _It's polite_, Leah had so righteously pointed out. _We aren't going to be rude and nit-pick through family members, family is family_.

Right. Bet she's singing a different tune now.

"Why the hell did we invite so many people?" She'd asked him as she shoved her way through two wolves she didn't recognize, finally making it to where Jacob was seated.

"Hey," he said smugly, "this was your idea."

His right shoulder was still numb from the last punch, so he didn't much mind it when she connected again.

The presents were actually pretty amusing, in contrast to what he'd thought it'd be like. They got everything they needed and about a grand's worth more, everyone having brought more than one, it seemed. He watched her as she opened them, smiled to himself because even though she showed him every single thing they got, he couldn't name a single one. Not because he wasn't paying attention. Nope. His attention was perfectly zoned and all of his focus was directed on her and only her. It's just that her stomach was so much bigger now, so much more obtrusive compared to everything else around it. And then there was her face, her smile, her eyes.. She seemed so bright, so happy, and that was a bit more important to him than the presents he could look at later on. She rolled her eyes at him because he had that distant look on his face again. Not the haunted, _my life is a wreck_, kind of distant. But the kind he'd been getting more and more since the beginning of this whole pregnancy thing. He was thinking again, god forbid, and it was probably something along the lines of how amazing she looked and how he never thought pregnant went along with enchanting and that her stomach is the most amazing thing he'd ever seen.

Of course, she didn't think so. He just told her all the time. He wasn't the one having to lug around that giant bowling ball, though, was he? Or the one that couldn't fit in any of his clothes anymore and could barely bend down to pick up something he dropped, now was he? No. She was all fat and bloated and _gross_, and he was still all buff and muscular and lean and…

"You're frowning."

"What?" she asked, glancing up at him… he who somehow managed to get from over _there_ to over _here_ in a matter of seconds. "What are you goin' on about?"

He grinned. "You seem a bit irritated all of the sudden… Looks like that make me think damage control is necessary."

She laughed, then, because he knew her so well. "So maybe you're kinda smart."

He wasn't sure how long baby showers were supposed to drag on, but this one stretched for an ungodly amount of time. Maybe it just seemed that way to him because he'd long since had enough of conversations with people he didn't really care for and talk of all the horrible things to expect from an infant. Obviously, they didn't understand how this worked cause this was going to be _their _baby and _their_ baby couldn't be anything less than perfect. Maybe someone had spiked the punch… cause these folks were spewin' crazy talk.

It had been over for all of five minutes. His foot was right behind her foot that had just taken the first step towards a bed that was screaming, not yelling, their names. And then the doorbell rang. He thought maybe he was supposed to be a little more patient because Leah was anything _but_ patient and he figured someone had to keep a level head around here, but her hormones were pretty strong. He would swear from that point forward that they were contagious, and he caught them.

He snatched the door open. "Wha- .." His tongue went numb. "Oh."

Keegan let out a little breath, smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, uh… hi."

"Hey, Keegan… uh…" He'd also swear that brain malfunction came with the pregnancy territory as well. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. "Right, come in.. come in.."

He _really_ hadn't been expecting him…

"Hey, Leah."

She was hugging him before he had a chance to protest and he was making the most uncomfortable face Jacob had ever seen when she held on for longer than five seconds.

"I didn't think you'd be back for another few months?"

"Yeah, well, I heard about the baby shower and wanted to… uh.. Bring you this.."

He pulled away from her, handed over a decent sized box wrapped in plain white paper. Her eyes lit up almost immediately and she was opening it at the kitchen table as Jacob tried to wrap his head around why seeing the kid was such a surprise. Oh, right, he'd left to try and close himself off from his family. Just a guess, but, he figured that'd take longer than a few months.

"So you headin' out soon," he finally asked him, watching a few different expressions try and play on Keegan's face. All failing, of course. The kid was arguably one of the best he'd seen at keeping a stony featured demeanor.

"Nah," came his short reply before, "It didn't go quite like I planned. Honestly, I don't feel like dealing with it over and over again. I'm satisfied with the few places I've been."

Jacob chuckled a little. "I don't blame you."

He heard Leah's drawn, _'awwwwww'_, and turned to see what could have _possibly_ made her say that word _again_. And froze mid-sentence when he saw it. So maybe Keegan could have taken the easy way out and brought them some diapers, lord knows a lot of their guests had, but it seemed that easy wasn't in that guy's vocabulary.

"Who made this?"

Jacob watched Leah's face as her eyes swept over the length of the gift and he found himself a little entranced by it, as well. Even moved to stand behind her so he could get a better look.

"Well, Jeremy used to keep a few stitch maids on hand so that we didn't have to buy new clothes and blankets and all that shit. They'd just fix ours and we'd reuse them. My, uh, grandmother used to work at the factory in the city of our territory. She was the best around… or so they told me. I found her when I was up in Canada… I asked her to make one and… this is what I got." He paused, fidgeting. "I don't really do gifts but I figured it'd be something she could use forever. The stitching is crazy strong so I don't think you'll have to worry about it giving out as she gets older."

She wasn't sure why she loved it so much. Maybe the native colors or the at-home feel it let off with the tribal marks and the earthy set to the background. Or maybe the four wolves, identical to she and Jacob and the twins. Or the name stitched so brilliantly at the bottom, blending so perfectly with the entire scene…

"She didn't have time to write out Samantha…. We figured Sammy would work. I thought of mentioning Sam but, well, you already have one of those."

Leah smiled, pulled the blanket… quilt… (maybe both?)… up to her chest and stood. "It's beautiful. I love it, really."

He just nodded and Leah took that as the most she'd get from him cause, well, he still wasn't very good with all this socialization crap. She took Jacob clearing his throat as him giving her permission to leave, even if it wasn't, because she was beyond tired and Samantha, _Sammy_, agreed. She'd long since stopped her kicking and was now content with settling on Leah's lungs in an attempt to get comfortable, she assumed. Yes, a bed was definitely a must, like now.

"I guess you can take mid-morning shifts," Jacob said once Leah was gone. "Talon patrols before school but he leaves at around seven and, since I've had to put the garage back at normal working hours, myself and a lot of the others are back at work around that time. Not a lot of man-power during the week."

"No problem, Rodney and I will take care of it."

Jacob took the back door opening as his opportunity to bolt. No offence to current company but, well, he was tired. "G'night guys. Glad to have ya back Keegan."

Keegan threw a nod and grinned at the stunned expression on Hailey's face, the very unsurprised look on Talon's. "When'd you get back?"

"Just now."

"I figured -"

"I'd be gone for another few months," he broke in, "I know."

His smile melted away the haze of uncertainty and, though it'd been awhile, things seemed to settle into the norm. And he wouldn't regret coming back early in the slightest once they did.

.

_Eight months._

_._

She glared at the T.V. remote, sitting so smug and self-satisfied up on the top of the entertainment center, so disgustingly far out of reach. She glared at her legs, invisible to her through the massive belly that she would swear was half of her body index nowadays. Then she'd glare at the belly because it was just _So. Damn. Big._ and dammit, she wanted to change the channel! Who the hell watched the cooking channel anyway? Though she supposed it was a lesson of sorts. She should have known better after the last few weeks. When there was nobody else around, she had to plan for things like this in advance. And she had done no prior planning upon descending onto the poor, unsuspecting couch.

"Leah?"

Ah, yes, lunchtime.

"Couch," she mumbled just loud enough.

She was ready for him to laugh because he always did when he saw her sunk into the cushions, stomach sticking up in the air and chin tucked into her just-as-swollen chest. But he didn't laugh. In fact, when he stopped in the threshold of the living room, lunch in hand, he seemed all but mocking. He let out a slow breath, his head tilted to the side, his brows bunched and furrowed and just all messed up, then took slow and steady steps to the coffee table. The table, like the couch, would then be abused with way too much weight for it's own good.

"You okay?"

Her frown etched a little deeper, her irritation spiking just a little higher. "Do I _look_ alright?"

"No, not really."

She narrowed her eyes when he shifted the lunch bags on his arm, when his muscles tensed and his shoulders squared. "What are you doing?"

He shrugged. "You need to get some rest."

His arms were under her in a split second and, crushing the idea that she was literally big as a whale, he picked her up. Apparently not too heavy for mister alpha-wolf. Maybe having him around was useful to a degree.

She pretended that her head resting on his shoulder was an accident and that she hadn't wrapped her arms around his neck, snuggled all comfy-like. No, it had all been an accident cause there was no way she'd condone being carried, no matter how much pressure walking put on her feet. And legs. And hips. And head. And pride.

"Rough morning?" He asked as he set her on the edge of the bed, set the food down on the end table.

"Something like that."

"Well… let's eat."

She felt a little uncomfortable because there was some weariness in his voice, a little uncertainty and she hadn't heard any of that in quite some time. He was tense and acting all stand-off-ish. Like he was trying to keep himself distracted. So, of course, she had to be sure he failed.

"What's wrong with you?"

He glanced at her while separating their meals, shrugged. "Nothing. Just a little tired."

"Nooo," she drawled speculatively. "You're acting funny."

"Am not." He set her food out across her lap once she was comfortable and moved around the bed, took a spot beside her. "Now eat."

She frowned. "I'm a grown up… I can -"

"Decide when you need to eat and so on, so forth. I know, Lee. I know."

Funnily enough, she didn't retort. Not so much because she couldn't think of any snarky comments, there were plenty for her to choose from, she just really didn't like that tone he was using. Nothing bossy or mean or even evasive. Just strange. And so they sat through two episodes of some stupid show she wasn't really paying attention to and she realized his lunch break had been over for about twenty minutes.

"Shouldn't you get back to work?"

"Nah," he said through a yawn. "I took the rest of the day off."

He curled around her in that crazy-comfortable way that he always did and she could feel her body slowly easing up. All that pressure that was here and there and everywhere started to release, all those aches that were wound tight enough to cut off her circulation started to loosen the slightest bit. She closed her eyes when he pulled her shirt up, let his hand travel the width of it all soft and sweet-like. She smiled when his lips started following the path of his hand, when he recruited the other and, yes, two are definitely better than one…. Long fingers pressing and kneading and _God_ she'd been sent to heaven.

Anxiety? What anxiety?

"Better?" he asked, rolling her to her side and letting his hands work their magic on her lower back.

"Very," she mumbled, something akin to ecstasy muffling her words and making her groggy. "Very, very… oh my.. _god_."

He smiled into her neck, his hands still between them, traveling the length of her back. "Help me get your shirt off."

"Rip it."

"Leah.."

"This is the most comfortable I've been in _days_, I don't wanna move. Just rip it."

He had to suppress the amusement, though upon actually ripping it, he let loose a slight chuckle. Poor shirt. He lasted for about two hours before he got tired, and she pretended she wasn't disappointed, if only for his sake. Lord knows she wasn't fooling herself on that one. It had been _amazing_. It was just a testament to the fact that this pregnancy was nothing like her last, even counting the whole Jacob thing out. Carlisle mentioned something along the lines of wrong-positioning for the reasons behind all the trouble she'd been having. Not so much with everyday functioning, just the all around comfort and physical effort it took to do those normal, everyday things. Breathing was difficult because the baby favored her lungs, apparently. Walking was awkward because she sat so far up and weight distribution was all messed up. Her organs were taking a serious beating with all the kicking and rolling and tumbling she was doing. And _Christ_ her back would never be the same, of that she was positive. At eight months, the baby was well over estimated weight and size. Carlisle decided that it was different with the twins because they were sharing space and, naturally, they both remained at a decent, if not below-average, size throughout the pregnancy and then birth.

Maybe she should have had twins again.

But even with the discomforts and the overall frustration, Jacob was great, and she was definitely grateful to have him around. He had that whole, _agree to avoid hurt feelings or flying objects_ thing down to a tee. It made things so much easier when she was in a mood and had no control over what her mouth and extremities said and threw. Once dinner was over and done with she was down for the count and he was gone when she woke up the next morning… well… if you consider noon to be morning, anyway. She found Embry downstairs, watching TV and eating up all her cookies.

"Jacob make you my bitch for the day?"

Both knew it was a joke but, really, that's pretty much what he was there for.

"Not in so many words."

"Where did this come from?" she asked, sitting down beside him.

"Whaddya mean?"

"Why do I suddenly need a babysitter?"

He didn't seem put off by the question. He'd probably been expecting it, probably had about thirty different answers for it to avoid being mauled by mama-bear… so to speak.

"Maybe he's just worried about you?"

"Maybe I've done this before and I'm pretty sure I don't need someone watchin' over me twenty four, seven."

Wrong choice, apparently. "He's just lookin' out for you, Leah. Let him have it."

And she did, because she knew it was just as stressful for him to leave her as it was for her to watch him go and she's nearly positive she'd do the same thing if it were reversed.

.

_Not quite nine months._

_._

She had ten little fingers and ten little toes and she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen in his life. She was so soft and brand new and her eyes were wide with curiosity. And when her tiny little hand wrapped around his finger he was pretty sure that nothing else in the world could ever rival that o' so perfect moment. Until she grinned, and _then_ nothing else in the world could rival that new o' so perfect moment.

He didn't hear the knock on the door. Either that or he chose not to acknowledge it, so she called out, "come in," without ever taking her eyes off the two of them. She looked so tiny in his arms, so fragile and perfect. Leah had done well with the whole crying thing throughout the pregnancy, only having done it a handful of times, but this was going to go under one of those _special occasion_ categories. Embry sat beside her as the first tear fell.

"She's gorgeous."

Leah sniffed a little, turned and let out a forced chuckle at his three piece suit. "I'm guessing you were getting fitted?"

"Last one before the wedding. We've moved it, though. Cant go and do something like get married without my other half along for the ride."

They both laughed a little, ignoring the irritated noise Jacob made at the reference. It was the truth, after all. Despite their differences, they'd always been the closest out of she and the other wolves. But he wasn't nice enough to let her tear-stained face go by unnoticed.

"I've never actually _seen_ happy tears," he snarked, grinning.

"Shut up."

She promptly cleaned it up as others started piling in, breaking Jacob out of whatever trance he'd been in. She started to wonder how they'd convinced the nurse to let them all in… cause the numbers were staring to…

"Miss Clearwater, I'm so sorry… I tried to tell them.. But, well,.. - I … -"

She smiled at the nurse as best she could without bursting into laughter. "It's alright, they're fine."

"Guess Jacob putting a detail on you was a good thing after all, huh?"

She tried to glare at Embry but, well, he was right. Had he not put said detail on her she'd have probably popped a baby out on the stairs at their house all by her lonesome cause that phone had been about a mile away from where she was sitting. Well, it had seemed that way at the time. Brady insists that it was only a few feet. But Brady learned within a few moments that he would never dispute the subject in front of anyone ever again. That bruise on his cheek was a solid reminder.

The madness that ensued shortly after that was put to an abrupt halt when she started feeling a little overwhelmed. Jacob, ever at her defense, even if unneeded, ordered them away and locked the door behind them. Only when Talon, Hailey and Keegan made an appearance would he open the door again. And even they were only allotted a few minutes before he sent them home. She'd planned on having a few minutes with the baby (Samantha, Sammy, Sam… _whichever_) before she entered the world of the living dead. But Jacob's chest was _so warm_ and the little one was already sound asleep and her eyelids were _so heavy_…

"If she wakes up.."

Her words were too groggy to have come from her mouth, but he responded as if she'd said them, anyway.

"I'll take care of it. Just get some sleep."

And she didn't argue. She let the steady rhythm of his heart lull her, and the rise and fall of his chest ward off the rest of the world, even if only for a few hours.

**

* * *

**

**a/n. I know, it was choppy and some of it was a little vague. But of all the ways I'd started this, it worked the best. I didn't want to completely skip the pregnancy, but I didn't want to have three or four chapters dedicated to it either. This story has gotten so long and I'm trying to cut out anything that I don't think necessary. Hope you guys liked it. **

**Review, please. =]**

**Oh! Next chapter will probably be the end so look for that within the next few days. Loves!**


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